The administration has gone from eliminating Harvard’s grants to targeting its tax-exempt status to halting its ability to enroll international students.
Harvard University has faced an unprecedented and radical offensive from Donald Trump and his team, which to date has focused on eliminating federal grants to the school, while simultaneously targeting Harvard’s tax-exempt status.
There is, however, a third element of the offensive. The New York Times reported:
The Trump administration on Thursday halted Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students, a major escalation in the administration’s efforts to pressure the college to fall in line with the president’s agenda. The administration notified Harvard about the decision after a back-and-forth in recent days over the legality of a sprawling records request as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s investigation, according to three people with knowledge of the negotiations.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem personally sent a letter to the university, which she posted to X later Thursday, that read in part, “I am writing to inform you that effective immediately, Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification is revoked.”
This development is extraordinary, but it does not appear out of the blue: In mid-April, while canceling nearly $3 million in DHS grants to Harvard, Noem simultaneously demanded that the university turn over records on foreign students alleged to have engaged in “illegal and violent activities.” Failure to cooperate would jeopardize Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification — which allows schools to admit international students.
Evidently, [Bimbo #2] Noem has now followed through on that threat.
This may well be the undoing of Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem, as she learns that that the tentacles of Harvard’s alumni extend everywhere.
