The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has cut another $450 million in grants from Harvard University, an ongoing dispute over the limitations of anti-Semitism, presidential control and academic freedom.

On Tuesday, Trump accused Harvard of being a joint task force at the country’s oldest university for committing “long-term policies and practices of discrimination based on race.”

"Harvard's campus was once a symbol of academic prestige, and has become a breeding ground for virtue signals and discrimination. This is not leadership; this is not cowardice. This is not academic freedom; this is an institutional right to disenfranchise."

“By prioritizing the agenda rather than accountability, the agency leaders confiscated the school’s claims of taxpayer support.”

The task force added that in addition to having suspended more than $2.2 billion in federal funding last week, another $450 million in grants were cancelled.

The president’s dispute with Harvard is a prestigious Ivy League campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts-started in March when Trump tried to impose new rules and regulations on top schools that had served as host last year.

Trump called the protest "illegal" and accused participants of anti-Semitism. But the student protest leaders described their actions as a peaceful response to Israel’s war in Gaza, which raised concerns about human rights violations, including genocide.

Columbia University was initially at the heart of the Trump administration’s efforts. The first major Palestinian Grand Unity Camp rose on the lawn of New York City schools, a blueprint for similar protests around the world. It also saw a series of mass arrests in the consequences.

In March, Mahmoud Khalil, a protest leader in Colombia, was the first foreign student to be arrested and revoked his legal immigration status based on Trump's campaign to punish protesters. When Trump threatened to collect $400 million in grants and research contracts, the school agreed to obey the list of requirements for recovery funds.

The requirements include a formal definition of anti-Semitism, strengthening campus security, and, under the supervision of external authorities, a scholarly sector focused on Middle East, African and South Asian studies (focused on Middle East, African and South Asian studies).

Free speech advocates say Colombia’s concession was a surrender to Trump, saying he tried to erode the academic freedom and silence he disagreed with.

On April 11, his administration released another list of needs for Harvard University, which developed further. Under its terms, Harvard will have to modify its discipline system, eliminate its diversity program, and agree to an external audit of plans considered anti-Semitism.

The requirements also require Harvard to agree to “structural and personnel change” that will promote “diversity of perspectives,” a vague term. But critics believe it is a means by which Trump imposes his values ​​and priorities on schools by shaping his recruitment and admissions practices.

Harvard has been the center of controversy in terms of past admissions. For example, in 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that Harvard’s consideration of race in student admission violated the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution through a process called “affirmative action.”

The letter Tuesday mentioned that the court ruled that “Harvard has repeatedly failed to face widespread racial discrimination and anti-Semitism harassment on campus.”

Two reports published by Harvard's own task force in April also found that there were anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic violence on campus after Israel's war in Gaza, a separatist issue in American politics.

Finally, on April 14, Harvard President Alan Garber rejected the Trump administration's request, believing it was evidence of excessive division of the government.

"There is no government - no matter which party in power, it should be decided by the fact that private universities can teach, who they can acknowledge and hire, and what areas of study and inquiry they can pursue," Garber wrote in his response.

But Trump continues to put pressure on campus, including threats to revoke his tax-exempt status. Democrats and other critics warn that the president's decision to influence the IRS on individual taxpayers like universities is illegal.

Under Trump, the Department of Homeland Security also threatens to ban foreign students from enrollment if Harvard does not hand over documents on the Pro-Palestine protests.

Harvard President Garber responded to Trump Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Monday, defending his campus commitment to freedom of speech while also addressing the ghost of anti-Semitism.

"We share a common foundation on many key issues, including the importance of ending anti-Semitism and other paranoia on campus. Like you, I believe Harvard must foster an academic environment that encourages freedom of thought and expression, and that we should embrace a variety of perspectives," his letter reads. ”

However, he added that Harvard’s efforts to create a more equitable learning environment are “beyond” and “destroy and threatened” by the Trump administration.

"Harvard will not surrender to its core, legally protected principles due to fears of unfounded retaliation by the federal government," Garber said.

"I have to refute your claim that Harvard is a partisan body. It is neither Republican nor democratic. It is not the arm of any other party or movement. Nor will it."