Harvard University's decision not to accede to the Trump administration's demands in exchange for continued federal funding, leading to the freezing of $2.2 billion, led to immediate support from many in Massachusetts — though not in the White House.
"I applaud Harvard University for not giving into the bullying," Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said Tuesday.
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"It's important to see those who have the resources and who have the platform stand up for what's right," Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said.
The funding was frozen by a task force on antisemitism at the Education Department.
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"We saw illegal discrimination take place on the campus of Harvard," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday. "There are countless examples to prove it."
More on Harvard and the Trump administration
In a letter to the administration, Harvard outlined the steps it has already taken to combat antisemitism and discrimination on campus. However, some students believe these measures have gone too far.
"Even though Harvard isn't going as far as Trump might like, it has still gone very far," said Violet Barron, a Harvard junior and founder of the student group Jews for Palestine.
She argued that student support for Palestine is being wrongly conflated with antisemitism.
"For the encampment, it suspended five of us — myself for an entire year. It revoked degrees from 13 seniors. Unprecedented levels of discipline." Barron said. "It was tough to see people celebrating Harvard standing up for free speech when all I've seen is Harvard cracking down on free speech."
The federal government's decision to pull over $2 billion in research funding is raising serious concerns about the future of critical scientific work at the university.
Mass General Brigham's CEO addressed employee concerns in an email, stating that "The impact of the federal investigation to Mass General Brigham and all Harvard Medical School teaching hospitals remains unknown."
The consequences of the funding freeze are already being felt. Harvard Medical School Professor David Walt has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for his ALS research.
"There's actually the potential for that project to just have to be shut down in the laboratory," Walt said. "This is going to cost lives. There's no question about it."
The Trump administration may go further, with the president on Tuesday musing on his social media platform, Truth Social, about pulling the university's tax-exempt status, while the White House made clear it's ready for a fight.
"Harvard should apologize," said Leavitt.
Members of Congress from Massachusetts, all Democrats, are approaching this moment as a call to action.
"The only way it stops is if we all stand together and resist these attacks on academic freedom and resist these attacks on censorship," Rep. Jim McGovern said.
"Other universities need to stand up for American values just like Harvard has done," Rep. Seth Moulton said, calling on Congress to step up and regain its power of the purse responsibilities.
