Timeline: Trump administration's actions against Harvard University

From targeting more than $2 billion in grants to seeking to block foreign students from being enrolled or entering the country, President Donald Trump's administration has taken a number of actions against Harvard University.

The school, one of the most prestigious in the U.S., calls it an "escalating campaign of retaliation."

Here is a timeline of actions taken by the Trump administration targeting the university.

April 11, 2025

The Trump administration sends a letter to Harvard's president saying that the school has "failed to live up to both the intellectual and civil rights conditions that justify federal investment" and demanding that the university change its governance, adopt merit-based hiring, shutter any DEI programs and allow "audits" to ensure "viewpoint diversity."

April 14, 2025

After Harvard refuses to comply with the Trump administration's demands, the administration responds by freezing more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to the school.

April 15, 2025

Trump posts on Truth Social that "Harvard should lose its Tax-Exempt Status."

April 16, 2025

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sends a letter to Harvard demanding information on every international student with an F1 visa, warning that failing to comply with the request will result in the withdrawal of the school's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification.

DHS also cancels two grants to Harvard totaling $2.7 million.

April 21, 2025

Harvard files a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the funding freeze.

April 30, 2025

Harvard says it has given DHS "thousands of data points concerning its entire F-1 visa student population."

May 5, 2025

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon says that Harvard will no longer receive any grants from the federal government.

May 6, 2025

Harvard says it has begun to receive grant termination notices from the federal government, including from the National Institutes of Health.

May 7, 2025

DHS tells Harvard that the school's initial production of information on its international students is insufficient, and asks for more details. Harvard redoes its search and produces more information for DHS.

May 9, 2025

The U.S. Department of Agriculture terminates its grants with Harvard.

May 12, 2025

The U.S. Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development all cancel their grants with Harvard.

May 13, 2025

Harvard amends its lawsuit against the Trump administration to cover additional funding cuts. A hearing in the case is set for July.

May 22, 2025

Noem says she has ordered the cancellation of Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, which would bar the school from enrolling foreign students.

May 23, 2025

Harvard sues the Trump administration over its attempt to cancel its Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, and U.S. District Judge Allison Dale Burroughs grants a temporary order blocking the move.

May 26, 2025

Trump, in a social media post, demands a list of the names of international students enrolled at Harvard.

May 27, 2025

The Trump administration asks federal agencies to "identify any contracts with Harvard, and whether they can be canceled or redirected elsewhere," according to a senior administration official.

The development comes as Judge Burroughs sets a May 29 hearing to consider extending his order barring the Trump administration from revoking the Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification.

May 29, 2025

Ahead of a federal court hearing on the Trump administration pulling Harvard's ability to enroll international students through the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), the administration backtracks, giving Harvard 30 days to challenge the revocation.

June 4

Trump signs a proclamation blocking foreign students from entering the U.S. to attend Harvard.

Trump invokes the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit the entry of noncitizens from entering the U.S. to study at Harvard for at least six months, arguing the institution is "no longer a trustworthy steward" of international students.

The proclamation also directs the secretary of state to consider revoking the visas of foreign students already in the U.S. to study at Harvard.

June 5

U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs issues a temporary restraining order barring Trump from implementing the proclamation, after Harvard argues the move violates its First Amendment rights and is outside the authority of the executive branch.

June 16

The judge extends the temporary block on Trump's move to bar foreign Harvard students from entering the country.