Trump Administration Conditions Harvard’s Funding on Eliminating DEI, Restricting Protests

Updated April 3, 2025, at 10:02 p.m.

The Trump administration demanded on Thursday that Harvard eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programming and ban masks at protests to avoid losing its federal funding, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Crimson.

In a Thursday afternoon letter addressed to Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 and Harvard Corporation senior fellow Penny S. Pritkzer ’81, the White House called on Harvard to “make meaningful governance reforms” and install leaders who will help implement the demands outlined in the letter.

But the White House did not give Harvard a timeline to accept the demands, only asking the University for “immediate cooperation” in rolling out the changes.

A Harvard spokesperson confirmed that the University had received the letter.

The letter, which came three days after three federal agencies pledged to review nearly $9 billion in federal grants and contracts to Harvard and affiliated institutions, asked Harvard to review and alter programs it accused of fueling antisemitism. It did not name the programs in question.

In the last week, Harvard has ousted personnel at its Center for Middle Eastern Studies, suspended programming focused on Israel and Palestine at the Harvard Divinity School, and terminated its partnership with the oldest university in the West Bank.

The letter also demanded that Harvard “commit to full cooperation” with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal regulators and “make organizational changes as necessary to enable full compliance.”

The letter also demanded that Harvard reject race- and gender-based preferences in hiring and replace them with a “merit-based” system — and asked the University to “demonstrate through structural and personnel action that these changes are durable.”

The Thursday letter will force the University to navigate between the Trump administration’s demands and increasing pressure from faculty members to resist yielding to the White House.

One week ago, more than 600 Harvard faculty members called on Harvard’s governing boards to publicly condemn the Trump administration’s attacks on universities and defy its demands. A protest outside University Hall on Tuesday — which drew roughly 300 attendees — urged Harvard to resist demands from the Trump administration.

The Trump administration’s demands were first reported by Fox News Digital.

—Staff writer Dhruv T. Patel can be reached at dhruv.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @dhruvtkpatel.

—Staff writer Grace E. Yoon can be reached at grace.yoon@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @graceunkyoon.