Donald Trump vs Harvard University — a timeline of events

In a build-up of the Donald Trump vs Harvard University battle, students of the Ivy League school on May 27 protested the government's decision to cancel all remaining financial contracts, worth $100 million, with the university.

The institution drew Donald Trump's ire for refusing to submit to unprecedented oversight, including control of curriculum, admissions and research.

Here's a timeline of events: Donald Trump vs Harvard University

- In January Donald Trump began his term by cracking down on diversity, equity and inclusion programmes (DEI) on college campuses, businesses and government departments, through a series of executive orders.

- In February, a task force of the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said it would visit 10 schools, including Harvard, to "root out antisemitism" amid widespread student protests supporting Palestine.

- In early March, the Trump administration cuts $400 million of federal funding to Columbia University and the Department of Education (ED) sent warning letters to dozens others, including Harvard.

- March 31: ED, US Dept of Health and Human Services (HHS), and US General Services Administration (GSA) announce an official review of $255.6 million in Harvard contracts and $8.7 billion in multi-year grants.

- April 11: Harvard gets letter stating it has failed to meet conditions that justify federal investments, including demands from the Trump administration such as governance overhaul, cutting DEI policies, reformed hiring practices and refusal of "hostile" international students.

- April 14: Harvard President Garber rejects demands as unconstitutional. And the government freezes $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contracts.

- April 15: Donald Trump in a post on Truth Social suggests that Harvard could lose “Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity”. He accuses Harvard of “pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting ‘Sickness’”.

- April 16: US Department of Homeland Security demands records of "illegal and violent" students from Harvard by April 30 and threatens to revoke approval for its Student and Exchange Visitor Program.

- April 21:Harvard files a lawsuit against the Trump administration for violating the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

- April 30: Harvard says it shared information, but no specifics provided to media.

- May 2: Donald Trump again threatens to take away Harvard’s tax-exempt status.

- May 5: The Trump administration says it is cutting all new federal grants to Harvard.

- May 13: The US Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism announces another $450 million in federal funding from eight federal agencies.

- May 19: The DOJ announces it will use the False Claims Act, typically used to punish federal funding recipients accused of corruption, to crack down on universities like Harvard over DEI policies. HHS also says it isterminating$60 million in federal grants to Harvard.

- May 22: Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem announces revocation of Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program, blocking it from enrolling new foreign students and saying current students will need to transfer to continue their studies.