The planned directive first seen by The New York Times is scheduled to be distributed to agents on Tuesday, directing officials to close existing deals and find new suppliers, marking what the White House describes as a full break with Harvard after decades of collaboration, local U.S. media said.
This order is brought by the General Services Agency (GSA) and affects contracts for nine federal departments, from health research to executive training programs. According to the letter, agents must report by early June.
“The GSA understands that Harvard continues to engage in racism, including the admissions process and other areas of student life,” reads a letter signed by federal procurement director Josh Grunbaum. Harvard also claims it shows a “disquiet lack of concern about the safety and well-being of Jewish students.”
This represents the most serious blow to date when Trump dismantled Harvard’s federal relations. Since April, the administration has already frozen $3.2 billion in research grants, and the university has tried to ban foreign students from enrolling. This has been temporarily blocked by federal courts.
Harvard leaders, along with university president Alan Gerber, refused to succumb under federal pressure. It rejects the administration’s request as “illegal” and “we are trying to control what we hire and what we teach.
The Ivy League agency, which boasts a $53 billion contribution, has launched several federal lawsuits challenging the funding freeze and student registration restrictions. It argues that the White House violates constitutional protections for academic freedom.
The administration also argues that Harvard University has not complied with the 2023 Supreme Court decision to ban race as a factor in enrollment, despite the fact that it actually reduced enrollment at Harvard.
“Now we are encouraging your agency to look for alternative vendors for future services that you previously thought of Harvard,” adds the GSA letter.
Trump’s attack on Harvard began during a pro-Palestinian campus demonstration last year, but later expanded into a broader ideological battle with elite higher education. Trump repeatedly branded top universities as a shelter for “Marxist maniacs and madmen,” and on Monday he considered redirecting their federal funds to a trade school.
Congressional Republicans support Trump’s university crackdown by approving new taxes on large donations that could cost $850 million a year at Harvard, but the measure still requires Senate approval.
With 6,800 international students accounting for more than a quarter of the registration, Harvard faces an existential threat if Trump succeeds in blocking foreign hospitalizations. The University of Hong Kong has already begun recruiting Harvard applicants.
A federal hearing on Thursday will determine whether Harvard’s temporary right to register international students should be extended. The university continues to challenge the administration’s demands in court, including requirements to eliminate diversity programs, work with immigration authorities, and ban facial masks targeting pro-Palestinian protesters.
MNA