Overview

• President Trump signed executive orders banning diversity-based admissions criteria and mandating full disclosure of foreign university donations.
• The administration justified the measures as efforts to combat antisemitism and protect national security, citing pro-Palestinian campus protests as a key concern.
• Harvard University has filed a lawsuit challenging the $2.2 billion federal funding freeze, arguing it violates academic freedom and institutional autonomy.
• The new policies reflect broader Trump administration efforts to curtail diversity programs and increase federal oversight of higher education.
• Universities are now in a legal and policy standoff with federal authorities, with concerns mounting over impacts on academic freedom and international collaboration.