Donald Trump promised to drain the swamp of the liberal elite.
Now his administration is hitting them where it hurts – in their wallets.
And Linda McMahon just dropped a bombshell on Harvard that left the elite university scrambling.
Trump administration freezes $2 billion in federal funding to Harvard
Education Secretary Linda McMahon confirmed Tuesday that the Trump administration has frozen approximately $2 billion in federal funding to Harvard University.
McMahon appeared on Newsmax’s The Record With Greta Van Susteren where she defended the administration’s decision, making it clear this action wasn’t about silencing free speech but addressing serious civil rights violations.
“Let me be clear to Harvard and any university receiving federal funding: civil rights violations and creating an unsafe environment for any student will not be tolerated,” McMahon stated.
The Secretary explained that while Harvard has been pledged nearly $9 billion through various grants, the administration’s concerns about antisemitism and student safety prompted the dramatic action.
“This isn’t about free speech,” McMahon told Van Susteren. “What upset us about the investigations were really about civil rights. It was antisemitism on campus. It was student safety.”
Harvard refused to negotiate with Trump administration
McMahon revealed that the decision to freeze Harvard’s funding came only after the elite university stonewalled the administration’s attempts to address the problems.
“We sat with them. We sent them a letter. I spoke to the president of Harvard,” she said. “Then it was pretty hard line. They didn’t come back to negotiate at all.”
The Trump administration’s move sends a clear message to all universities receiving federal dollars – Protect the civil rights of all students or face financial consequences.
McMahon described disturbing incidents of antisemitic behavior on campuses, including students being locked in libraries while others shouted slogans like “death to Israel” and “death to the USA.”
She pointed to these events as examples of why many Americans question the use of federal dollars at these institutions.
Elite universities under increased scrutiny
When asked about the difference in treatment between elite and public universities, McMahon pointed to the national attention elite institutions receive and their leadership failures.
“When you have the president of one of these elite universities sitting before Congress and they can’t decide whether or not they can condemn genocide, those are the things that really turn off the people in the country,” McMahon explained.
The Education Secretary emphasized that the administration is specifically targeting universities that aren’t properly addressing antisemitism and student safety issues.
“We’ve asked them to look at the students they’re bringing in: Are they pro-Hamas when they bring them in or have other terrorist activities? We’ve asked them to take a look also at the faculty they’re hiring: What is their background, and are they bringing in a lot of this antisemitic thought process?” McMahon said.
The Secretary made it clear that Harvard isn’t in danger of shutting down, noting, “They do have money to operate, that is for sure. But we’d like to continue negotiations.”
The Biden-Harris administration largely ignored the growing antisemitism problem on college campuses over the past year, allowing it to fester and grow.
President Trump promised during his campaign to address the issue, and Secretary McMahon’s actions show he’s making good on that promise just three months into his administration.
“Let me be clear: We’re not talking about First Amendment rights at all,” McMahon clarified. “What I’m talking about are civil rights violations and safety for these students who are on campus. And the president just said he’s not going to allow it in terms of those universities that are receiving federal dollars.”
“And he’s being very firm about that,” she added.
Let me be clear to Harvard and any university receiving federal funding: civil rights violations and creating an unsafe environment for any student will not be tolerated. pic.twitter.com/Xfny4gPtkD
— Secretary Linda McMahon (@EDSecMcMahon) April 15, 2025
This is just the latest example of the Trump administration taking direct action against the liberal elite institutions that have long dominated American higher education.
Harvard’s leadership now faces a stark choice – address the legitimate concerns about antisemitism and student safety, or risk losing billions in taxpayer dollars.
