The Trump administration demanded Harvard implement 'merit-based' admissions and hiring policies, conduct an audit of student, faculty, and leadership views on diversity, and stop recognizing certain student clubs. They also suggested discontinuing DEI programs and restricting face masks on campus, among other reforms.

Harvard is working to borrow millions of dollars from Wall Street to mitigate the effects of the funding freeze.

Barack Obama praised Harvard for standing up for academic freedom, describing the Trump administration's actions as a 'ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom.'

The freeze threatens critical research, potentially impacting medical advancements and the economic competitiveness of the U.S. in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.