A Year of Cuts: Harvard and Columbia’s Federal Funding Fight

Over the past year, Harvard University and Columbia University have stood at the center of a high-stakes fight with the federal government. Beginning in January 2025 following President Trump’s inauguration, both schools saw major funding streams frozen or pulled as the Trump administration tightened its grip on federal research expenditures. What followed: months of canceled grants, public backlash, lawsuits, and, in Columbia’s case, a costly settlement to regain access to most of the $400 million in federal research funds that had been eliminated, along with billions more in future grant eligibility. Meanwhile, Harvard remains in negotiations in both federal and Boston courts. Here is how the freeze unfolded and where things stand now. 

Harvard: October 2024 

• Harvard endowment donations drop by $151M, representing one of the steepest declines in a decade. The decline came after several major donors cut ties with the University over its response to campus antisemitism and leadership turmoil following President Claudine Gay’s resignation. 

Columbia: Oct. 4, 2025

• Columbia’s annual Giving Day raises $21.3 million—a 28.8% drop from 2022’s record tidal—amid broader donor backlash over campus protests. 

Harvard: Jan. 27, 2025

• The White House issues a memo pausing agency grants, loans, and other financial assistance to all federal agencies nationwide. 
• In response, on Jan. 28, Harvard’s research office posts guidance for its research community and later notes that the freeze memo was halted and rescinded in court. Litigation continues nonetheless over the Jan. 27 pause and related executive orders. 

Harvard: Feb. 28, 2025

• NIH begins terminating research grants to Harvard and its affiliated hospitals, ultimately halting more than $110 million in funding by Apr. 1. 

Columbia: Mar. 3, 2025

• The federal Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism notifies Columbia that it will conduct a comprehensive review of the University’s federal contracts and grants in light of civil rights investigations. 

Columbia: Mar. 7, 2025

• The Trump administration cancels $400 million in Columbia grants and contracts; the University confirms in a same-day statement.

Columbia: Mar. 11, 2025

• The NIH announces it is terminating more than $250 million in funding to Columbia—including over 400 grants—most of them tied to Columbia’s medical center. This cut represents the bulk of the $400 million reduction announced days earlier by the federal task force. 

Columbia: Apr. 9, 2025

• An internal NIH email instructs staff to freeze all federal research grants to Columbia and several peer institutions—including Harvard—halting payments to current principal investigators. 

Harvard: Apr. 11, 2025

• The Trump administration sends Harvard a sweeping letter demanding major reforms as a condition for restoring federal funding. Proposed requirements included eliminating DEI programs, adopting “merit-based” hiring and admission policies, auditing departments for “viewpoint diversity,” and tightening discipline of students and faculty. 
• Harvard releases the letter publicly.

Harvard: Apr. 14, 2025

• Harvard responds to the administration’s letter, asserting that the government’s demands contravene the First Amendment and exceed its lawful authority. 

Harvard: Apr. 21-22, 2025

• Harvard issues a 51 page lawsuit to the Trump administration to restore over $2.2 billion in frozen grants (and $60 million in multi-year contracts). Within hours, the administration escalates its response, freezing additional grant funding, threatening to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status, and targeting the school’s ability to host international students. 

Columbia: May 6-7, 2025

• Columbia announces 180 researcher layoffs as a result of terminated grants; this is confirmed by local and national outlets the following morning.

Harvard: Jun. 16-20, 2025

• A federal judge in Massachusetts orders the NIH to restore hundreds of research grants the Trump administration had canceled earlier in the year. Many of the affected projects at Harvard, Columbia, and other universities focused on health disparities as well as LGBTQ+ and women’s health. The ruling applied only to the grants named in the lawsuits, and the government had the option to appeal. 

Columbia: Jun. 17, 2025

• A federal judge dismisses a faculty-union lawsuit challenging the Columbia freezes, leaving the cuts in place.

Columbia: Jun. 30, 2025

• After briefly unfreezing funds on June 18 following a federal court order, the NIH refreezes Columbia’s research funding the same afternoon, citing the need for approval. 

Harvard: July-August 2025

• The Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal note the White House strategy in pursuing settlements with financial penalties against top universities.
• Harvard continues its federal lawsuit challenging the freeze of more than $2.2 billion in research grants, and some outlets report talks toward a settlement.

Columbia: Jul. 23, 2025

• Columbia announces it has finalized a settlement agreement with the federal government, resolving multiple investigations and restoring access to federal research funding.

Columbia: Jul. 24-25, 2025

• Columbia releases the terms of its settlement, including $221 million payment and policy changes with federal funding restored following the agreement.

Harvard: Aug. 4, 2025

• Harvard President Alan Garber ’76 reportedly says he is not considering the alleged $500 million deal with the Trump administration.

Harvard: Aug. 25, 2025

• The Supreme Court rules with a 5-4 vote that the Trump administration has the authority to cancel $780 million in NIH grants which contribute to topics disfavored by the administration: DEI, “gender ideology,” and vaccine hesitancy.

Nashla Turcios ’28 (nashlaturcios@college.harvard.edu) writes News for the Harvard Independent.