Trump threatens to cut another $1 billion in Harvard funding, WSJ reports

(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to chopped different $1 cardinal successful backing for Harvard University, this clip targeting wellness research, the Wall Street Journal reported connected Sunday, arsenic the administration's enactment with elite schools escalated.

The Trump medication has withheld authorities backing from Harvard, Columbia and different universities successful effect to their tolerance of pro-Palestinian demonstrations successful what the medication has labeled a nonaccomplishment to power antisemitism connected campus.

Harvard pushed backmost past week, rejecting demands for power of its pupil body, module and curriculum, saying that would cede power of the assemblage to government.

Within hours of Harvard taking its stand, the medication announced it was freezing $2.3 cardinal successful national backing to the schoolhouse and the adjacent time threatened to portion Harvard of its tax-exempt status.

The Journal, citing radical acquainted with the matter, reported the plans to propulsion an further $1 cardinal successful probe funds arose aft medication officials thought a agelong database of demands they sent Harvard connected April 11 was a confidential starting constituent for negotiations, and officials were amazed erstwhile Harvard released the missive to the public.

Trump officials had been readying to dainty Harvard much leniently than Columbia but present privation to summation the unit connected Harvard, the Journal reported.

The White House and Harvard did not instantly respond to a Reuters petition for remark connected Sunday.

Since his January inauguration, Trump has cracked down connected apical U.S. universities, saying they mishandled past year's pro-Palestinian protests and allowed antisemitism to intensify connected campus. Protesters, including immoderate Jewish groups, accidental their disapproval of Israel's actions successful Gaza is wrongly conflated with antisemitism.

The medication had antecedently sent a database of demands connected April 3 to Harvard for the Ivy League assemblage to proceed receiving national funding. These included a disguise ban, removal of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and much practice with instrumentality enforcement.

The April 11 letter, signed by officials astatine the Education Department, the Health and Human Services Department, and the General Services Administration, expanded that list. It told Harvard to halt recognizing immoderate pro-Palestinian groups and asked it to study to national authorities overseas students violating assemblage policies, among different demands.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Himani Sarkar)