President Trump is trying to influence which colleges receive federal financial support, a practice that began around the time of World War II.

The funding cut is a substantial slice of the university’s budget. By comparison, the amount distributed by Harvard’s endowment for the fiscal year ending in June 2024 was $2.4 billion, which encompassed nearly 40% of the university’s total operating revenue that year.

Harvard University is the latest in a growing list of higher education institutions that had its federal funding targeted by the government in order to comply with the Trump administration's political agenda.