Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has cancelled over $2.7 million in grants to Harvard University due to tensions between the school and the Trump administration.
The big picture: The cancellation involved two grants worth more than $2.7 million from the Department of Homeland Security, with Noem citing concerns about Harvard’s foreign student visa holders engaging in illegal and violent activities.
- Noem accused Harvard of “bending the knee to antisemitism” and fostering a “cesspool of extremist riots” that threaten national security, citing the university’s alleged alignment with anti-American and pro-Hamas ideology.
Driving the news: The Trump administration had previously demanded policy changes from Harvard, including those related to protesting and diversity programs, which the university rejected. Noem’s move came after the administration threatened to freeze around $2.2 billion in multiyear grants to Harvard.
Go deeper: The grants under cancellation were specifically criticized by DHS for allegedly branding conservatives as far-right dissidents and funding “public health propaganda” at Harvard, which the department claimed undermined American values and security.
