What started as a discrimination case has escalated into a clash over free speech, campus safety, and federal support.

The Trump administration has stepped up its feud with Harvard University in recent days, but this fight has been brewing for a long time.  

What began as a student-led lawsuit to combat antisemitism at the school has escalated into a standoff that now threatens billions of dollars in federal funding and the university’s ability to host international students. 

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Here is a timeline of what has happened so far: 

January 12, 2024 

Six Jewish Harvard students, part of a group called Students Against Antisemitism, filed a lawsuit alleging that Harvard’s “deliberate indifference” and “enabling” of antisemitism violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

January 21, 2025 

Harvard settled the lawsuit with Students Against Antisemitism, and “agreed to undertake important actions to combat antisemitism on its campus.” The agreement states Harvard will: 

  • Use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism in their anti-bullying policies. 
  • Post an FAQ clarifying that Jewish, Israeli, and Zionist identities are protected under anti-discrimination rules. 
  • Publish annual reports on antisemitism-related complaints and discipline for the next five years. 
  • Provide expert training for staff on antisemitism and broadly promote campus-wide training. 

March 31, 2025 

The General Services Administration (GSA), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced “a comprehensive review of federal contracts and grants at Harvard University and its affiliates” as part of the federal Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism. 

March 31, 2025 

Harvard President Dr. Alan Gaber told the Harvard community that the university “fully embrace[s] the important goal of combatting antisemitism” and that they will “engage with members of the federal government’s task force to combat antisemitism.” 

April 3, 2025 

Representatives of the GSA, HHS, and ED sent a letter to Harvard President Dr. Alan Garber outlining what “areas of reform that the government views as necessary for Harvard to implement.”  

These actions include:  

  • Reviewing and reforming programs and departments that “fuel antisemitic harassment.” 
  • Banning masks on campus. 
  • Clarifying a “time, place, and manner policy” for speech and protests. 
  • Consistently and proactively enforcing disciplinary policies. 
  • Implementing merit-based (as opposed to race or nationality-based) policies in admissions and hiring.  
  • Shuttering all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. 

April 11, 2025 

Representatives of the GSA, HHS, and ED sent a new letter to Harvard President Dr. Alan Garber further fleshing out the demands of the April 3 letter. 

This letter requires Harvard to: 

  • Comply with the government’s demands by August 2025. 
  • Have all faculty undergo plagiarism checks. 
  • Stop admitting international students “hostile to the American values and institutions inscribed in the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence.” 
  • Report any international student who commits a conduct violation to the federal government. 
  • Audit the student body and faculty to ensure “viewpoint diversity.” 
  • Ban certain student organizations, including Students for Justice in Palestine and the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee, and “discipline and render ineligible” students who are members of those clubs. 

April 14, 2025 

Harvard’s lawyers responded to the letters from GSA, HHS, and ED. They affirmed that Harvard “is committed to fighting antisemitism and other forms of bigotry in its community” and detailed what steps the university had taken to combat antisemitism over the prior 15 months. 

Harvard’s lawyers alleged the government’s demands violate the first amendment and “invade university freedoms long recognized by the Supreme Court.” They stated the university “will not accept the government’s terms.” 

April 14, 2025 

The federal government paused $2.2 billion in federal grants and $60 million in federal contracts to Harvard over its decision to reject the government’s demands.  

April 16, 2025 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) canceled $2.7 million in grants to Harvard and demanded that the university provide records on international students’ “illegal and violent activities” by April 30.  

May 22, 2025 

DHS revoked Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, meaning the university can no longer enroll international students. Existing international students would have to transfer to another university or have their visa revoked. 

DHS alleged that “Harvard’s leadership has created an unsafe campus environment by permitting anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators to harass and physically assault individuals, including many Jewish students.”  

May 23, 2025 

Harvard President Dr. Alan Garber called the visa cancelations “unlawful and unwarranted” and announced that the university is challenging it in court.  

May 23, 2025 

U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs ruled in Harvard’s favor and temporarily blocked DHS from canceling the university’s visa certification while the lawsuit is ongoing.  

May 27, 2025 

The GSA ordered all federal agencies to terminate their remaining contracts with Harvard, worth an estimated $100 million. 

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