The president of Harvard University on Monday defended his institution's efforts to fight antisemitism and denounced the Trump administration's interference in trying to shape its core values.
But he also conceded they share common ground.
Last week, Education Secretary Linda McMahon wrote a letter to Harvard and its president, Alan Garber, in which she said the university will no longer receive new federal research grants until it meets a series of demands from the Trump administration. McMahon accused Harvard of lowering its academic standards, allowing antisemitism to spread on campus, and ignoring the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that eliminated affirmative action in college admissions.
But in a three-page response to McMahon, Garber initially took a conciliatory tone, saying he and McMahon share "common ground" regarding the administration's objectives.
"As your letter suggests, we share common ground on a number of critical issues, including the importance of ending antisemitism and other bigotry on campus," Garber wrote. "Like you, I believe that Harvard must foster an academic environment that encourages freedom of thought and expression, and that we should embrace a multiplicity of viewpoints rather than focusing our attention on narrow orthodoxies."
But Garber then said the university can't achieve such goals if it is being "undermined and threatened" by the Trump administration's "overreach."
"Harvard's efforts to achieve these goals are undermined and threatened by the federal government's overreach into the constitutional freedoms of private universities and its continuing disregard of Harvard's compliance with the law," Garber wrote.
He noted that Harvard has implemented "a comprehensive, institution-wide strategy" to fight antisemitism and other bigotry through "policy and discipline reforms, academic investments, community support initiatives, and educational programs."
Garber also rejected McMahon's claim that Harvard is politically biased toward Democrats, given that billionaire heiress Penny Pritzker, Commerce Secretary in the Obama administration, sister of Democrat Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and a longtime Democrat donor, is a senior fellow of the Harvard Corporation, which governs the university.
McMahon wrote that Harvard alum and billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman blamed Penny Pritzker for turning Harvard into a "political advocacy organization for one party."
"I must refute your claim that Harvard is a partisan institution," Garber wrote. "It is neither Republican nor Democratic. It is not an arm of any other political party or movement. Nor will it ever be."
He also pushed back against McMahon's allegation that Harvard's hiring process for faculty involves quotas and screening for political ideology.
"We do not have quotas," he wrote. "We hire people because of their individual accomplishments, promise, and creativity in their fields or areas of expertise."
Newsmax reached out to the Education Department for comment.