(The Hill) – President Trump has directed federal agencies to find and cut any remaining contracts with Harvard University, escalating the ongoing conflict with the Ivy League school.
The General Services Administration (GSA) is set to send a letter today to federal agencies, urging them to identify any contracts involving Harvard and explore possibilities for canceling or redirecting those contracts elsewhere, as reported by a senior Trump administration official to NewsNation, The Hill’s sister station, on Tuesday.
A two-page letter from the GSA, which was first reported by The New York Times on Tuesday, states that the GSA is “aiding” all federal agencies in reviewing and potentially terminating or transitioning their contracts with Harvard University and its affiliates.
Josh Gruenbaum, the commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, said Harvard continues to engage in “race discrimination” and that the institution has a “lack of concern for the safety and wellbeing” of Jewish students on campus.
“We recommend that your agency terminate for convenience each contract that it determines has failed to meet its standards, and transition to a new vendor those contracts that could be better serviced by an alternative counterparty,” Gruenbaum wrote in the letter.
“Going forward, we also encourage your agency to seek alternative vendors for future services where you had previously considered Harvard,” he added.
The Hill has reached out to Harvard for comment.
The development marks a continuation of the administration’s war with the elite school. The federal government has terminated nearly $3 billion in grants to Harvard, saying the school has not done enough to combat antisemitism on campus and “race discrimination.”
It also comes after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem ordered the school’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification to be revoked last week, therefore preventing the school from being able to enroll international students. Harvard sued the Trump administration in response.
U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs temporarily blocked DHS’s move on Friday.
Trump wrote Monday that he is considering taking $3 billion of grant money from the Ivy League school and giving it to trade schools around the country.
