A “war” … that continues almost by accident. So one could comment on the fact that the letter of his government Donald Trump university Harvard It was sent … by mistake.
The information popped like a “bomb”. Harvard University was informed by Officer of Donald Trump’s special team for anti -Semitism that the famous letter sent by the US government to Harvard University to April 11, 2025 In order of requests, he had been sent unauthorizedquoted the New York Times, citing two sources knowing the issue, as Bloomberg reports.
The letter included a series of demands on recruitment, imports and curriculum, which “triggered” the university’s already tense relationship with the American president, launching a legal dispute.
Following the announcements came the reaction from Donanld Trump himself and almost shortly thereafter followed a stressful phone call from a White House official who told Harvard that that e-mail should not have been sent, as he had not received the required approval.
This phone call, the New York Times reports, confirm two anonymous sources with knowledge of the issue. At the same time, three other people informed on the matter report that the e-mail in question was sent by him General Advisor of the Department of Health and Human Services, Sean Keveni, which is a central member of Trump’s special team for anti -Semitism.
However, until today it remains unknown How this letter was sent. Its content is not is challengedbut there are different estimates inside the White House for the mismanagement of the issue. Some argue that it was sent prematurely and others estimate that the purpose of the letter was to divide internally to the Task Force and not to go to Harvard.
Timing, however, was equally strange, as at that time the university administration estimated that it could avoid a conflict with President Trump, as talks had begun in previous weeks, but the demands of the document were so extreme that they brought the angry rejection.
After public refusal, the Trump government increased pressure, freezing billions of federal funding and threatening to stop tax exemptions to the Foundation. A senior White House official notes that the government finally supported the letter and crossed the counterattack.
The comment by the White House
“This is a mismanagement on the part of Harvard’s lawyers, as they have chosen to disclose their opposition and play the role of the victim instead of discussing with the special team with which they had a dialogue lately,” said Mae Milman, a senior White House consultant.
Even so, Milman points out that there is a way to resume talks if the university, among other things, follows what Donald Trump has requested and apologizes to his students about anti -Semitism incidents within the University.
Keveni did not comment on the report, and in a statement the Special Committee on Anti -Semitism notes “the Task Force and the entire Trump government are committed to ensuring that all institutions that receive taxpayers’ money keep human rights laws”.
Harvard’s response
Harvard, for his part, reacted to the White House’s allegations that he had to talk to his lawyers after receiving the letter.
“The letter was signed by three federal employees, it was a formal stamp and was sent by the e-mail of a senior federal official. Recipients of such mail by the US government, even if it includes extreme demands, do not question its authenticity or seriousness. “ It supports the university.
And adds’ remains unknown to us which It was the mistakes or what the government really wanted to do and say. Even if the letter was incorrect, the government’s actions this week have real consequences for students, employees and the reputation of US Higher Education worldwide. “
Threats, the “freeze” of the grant and the wrong e-mail
The confrontation between the Trump government and the Harvard University has evolved into a major political and legal issue in the United States, with the focus of T.Academic freedom, funding of higher education and political influence on universities.
The US president threatened to ban the top university from accepting foreign students, If he does not have to undergo auditing students, his university recruitment and his political orientation.
In the meantime the government’s announcement had been preceded by ‘Freezing’ of a $ 2.2 billion grant. At the university, because of his refusal to accept its demands in the struggle for the fight against anti -Semitism.
Oil on fire, threw the letter that the university administration received from the government’s working group for anti -Semitism, which contained requirements for changes in recruitment, import and curriculum.
Of course, Donald Trump’s attacks on the educational institution had not been missing all this time, which had described, among other things, anecdotal, arguing that is not worth taking sponsorships from the US government.
“Harvard is an anecdote that teaches hatred and stupidity and should no longer receive federal funds,” he had stated through Truth Social, accusing the university of mainly recruiting “radical leftists, stupid and brain”.