First it was allegations of "anti-Semitism." Then it was to end "DEI" programs. Now, the Trump Administration seemingly has a new reason to target Harvard University — "LGBTQ graduate majors."
Donald Trump recently attempted to cut all federal funding to the Ivy League while prohibiting international students from enrolling in response to the university refusing to comply with his numerous demands, including to end all diversity, equity, and inclusion practices and to punish students who peacefully voiced opposition to Israel's attacks on Gaza, which the United Nationsand Amnesty International have designated as a genocide.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt aired yet another grievance with Harvard during an appearance on Fox News Monday evening, in which she seemingly implied that "LGBTQ graduate majors" are another reason for the funding cuts.
"And the president is more interested in giving that taxpayer money to trade schools and programs and state schools where they are promoting American values, but most importantly educating the next generation based on skills that we need in our economy and our society: apprenticeships, electricians, plumbers," Leavitt said. "We need more of those in our country, and less LGBTQ graduate majors from Harvard University. And that's what this administration's position is."
Harvard does not have an "LGBTQ major." Like most universities, it offers a major and minor in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, which includes the study of "history, literature, visual studies, anthropology, sociology, ethnic studies, LGBT studies, political science, psychology, and biology," according to its website.
The Department of Health and Human Services launched an investigation into Harvard after some medical school graduates wore buttons and scarves showing support for Palestine. The administration concluded in an April letter to university president Alan Garber that the school "failed to live up to both the intellectual and civil rights conditions that justify federal investment" by permitting "anti-Semitism." The letter also demanded that Harvard eliminate all DEI initiatives and ensure "viewpoint diversity."
When Harvard refused, Trump froze over $2.2 billion in federal grants to the school in retaliation. The administration then pushed to further investigate anti-genocide protests on the campus by demanding detailed records about its student body, including all information about students on F1 visas, which the school also denied.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced days later that Harvard would no longer be allowed to enroll international students going forward, and that all current international students must somehow transfer. Harvard filed a lawsuit against the administration the next day, and a judge blocked the enrollment ban until the hearing on May 29. The college has filed a separate suit against the funding freeze, which is scheduled to be heard in July.
The university's president maintained in an open letter to students and staff that Trump officials "seek to control whom we hire and what we teach" through their "illegal demands," which goes against the First Amendment. Garber, who is Jewish, also said that the school "will continue to fight hate with the urgency it demands as we fully comply with our obligations under the law," adding: "That is not only our legal responsibility. It is our moral imperative."
"The consequences of the government’s overreach will be severe and long-lasting. Research that the government has put in jeopardy includes efforts to improve the prospects of children who survive cancer, to understand at the molecular level how cancer spreads throughout the body, to predict the spread of infectious disease outbreaks, and to ease the pain of soldiers wounded on the battlefield," the letter states. "The victims will be future patients and their loved ones who will suffer the heartbreak of illnesses that might have been prevented or treated more effectively."
