Trump says he's considering giving $3B of Harvard grant money to trade schools

President Trump on Monday said he was considering taking $3 billion of grant money from Harvard University and distributing it to trade schools around the country, amid an ongoing battle with the country’s oldest university. 

“I am considering taking Three Billion Dollars of Grant Money away from a very antisemitic Harvard, and giving it to TRADE SCHOOLS all across our land,” Trump wrote in a Monday morning post on Truth Social. “What a great investment that would be for the USA, and so badly needed!!!”

The Hill has reached out to Harvard for comment. 

The administration has escalated its back-and-forth with the Ivy League institution, with the Department of Homeland Security ordering Thursday that the school be taken off the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification, which is necessary for enrolling international students. 

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said the school had to be held accountable for “fostering violence, failing to curb antisemitism and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.” The school sued the administration on Friday morning, alleging its First Amendment right was violated. Hours later, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs temporarily blocked the administration’s move to rescind the school’s SEVP certification. 

The administration said last week it would terminate $60 million in grants to Harvard, with the total amount of money taken away nearing $3 billion. 

The administration’s joint task force to combat antisemitism previously said that Harvard “repeatedly failed to confront the pervasive race discrimination and anti-Semitic harassment plaguing its campus.” 

Apart from the foreign student ban, Harvard has also sued the administration in late April, asking for the federal funds to be reinstated. The Trump White House has pressed Harvard to get rid of it’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts and change its hiring and admissions processes, in addition to doing more to combat antisemitism on campus.

Trump, in another Monday morning post on Truth Social, said the administration is still waiting for Harvard to send over the all of the international students who are enrolled at the Ivy League school “so that we can determine, after a ridiculous expenditure of BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, how many radicalized lunatics, troublemakers all, should not be let back into our Country.” 

“Harvard is very slow in the presentation of these documents, and probably for good reason,” the president added. “The best thing Harvard has going for it is that they have shopped around and found the absolute best Judge (for them!) – But have no fear, the Government will, in the end, WIN!” 

Trump said on Sunday that he wants information on all of the foreign students at Harvard. Hours later, he argued that some U.S. students are missing out on an opportunity to attend the prestigious university because their spots are taken by international students. 

“I don’t have a problem with foreign students. But it shouldn’t be 31 percent. It’s too much, because we have Americans who want to go there, and to other places, and they can’t go there because there’s 31 percent foreigners,” Trump said. 

Trump had 6,793 international students during the 2024-2025 academic year, making up 27.2 percent of the student body, according to the school’s enrollment data.