BOSTON (SHNS) - The Trump administration on Tuesday froze more than $2 billion in federal funding for Harvard University after campus officials rejected a series of demands from the federal government. Escalating a national fight between the administration and several higher education institutes, the federal Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism announced it would halt $2.2 billion in multi-year grants headed toward Harvard as well as $60 million in "multi-year contract value" for the Ivy League school. The task force, whose members include representatives from the federal Department of Justice, Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services, criticized Harvard officials while freezing funds. It said Harvard President Alan Garber's response to federal demands "reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation's most prestigious universities and colleges – that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws." "The disruption of learning that has plagued campuses in recent years is unacceptable. The harassment of Jewish students is intolerable," the task force said. "It is time for elite universities to take the problem seriously and commit to meaningful change if they wish to continue receiving taxpayer support." Action to halt federal funding came a day after the university refused to fulfill a series of demands laid out by the Trump administration, which sought to require hiring and admissions reforms, an end to diversity, equity and inclusion programs, student discipline changes and more as conditions to "maintain Harvard's financial relationship with the federal government." In his letter published Monday, Garber said while some of the demands the federal government made "are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the 'intellectual conditions' at Harvard." "The administration's prescription goes beyond the power of the federal government. It violates Harvard's First Amendment rights and exceeds the statutory limits of the government's authority under Title VI. And it threatens our values as a private institution devoted to the pursuit, production, and dissemination of knowledge," Garber wrote. "No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue." Trump has moved to crack down on several high-profile universities, in part responding to pro-Palestinian student protests that erupted last year amid Israel's war in Gaza. The administration has also moved to detain or deport students who participated in those demonstrations. Columbia University and Princeton University both complied with some Trump administration demands, The Guardian reported. Harvard's response drew praise from many Trump opponents, including Gov. Maura Healey, who praised university leadership for "standing up for education and freedom by standing against the Trump Administration's brazen attempt to bully schools and weaponize the U.S. Department of Justice under the false pretext of civil rights." "We all agree that antisemitism has no place in America and that it should be fought in the workplace, classrooms and everywhere," Healey said in a statement. "Complying with the Trump administration's dangerous demands would have made us all less safe and less free." ...read more read less