International News Report

Letter Sent By Trump Administration To Harvard Said to Be “Unauthorised”

The administration under Trump said the letter sent on April 11 to Harvard University was “unauthorized” and a “mistake”

Harvard University recently received an email from the Trump administration last Friday with strict demands which were about hiring, admissions and curriculum, which was later said to be “unauthorized” and a “mistake” after it caused a clash.

According to the university officials, these requirements were too demanding and thought of pushing back against the White House.

Earlier, the university went public with its stance fueling a huge clash with the US President. A short while after this, a Trump official made a hurried call to the university.

According to the New York Times, two of the people who were familiar with he matter said the April 11 letter from the White House was “unauthorised” and shouldn’t have been transmitted.

The report said that Sean Keveney, the acting general counsel at the Department of Health and Human Services and a member of the antisemitism task force had sent the letter.

However, there were varying explanations within the Trump administration. While its contents reflected internal discussions, confusion within the administration reportedly led to disagreement over whether the letter was meant for Harvard at all.

Some officials believed it was prematurely sent, while others said it was intended solely for internal circulation among task force members.

The Trump administration retaliated by freezing $2.2 billion in federal grants and $60 million in multi-year contracts awarded to Harvard. One member of the task force publicly criticised the university’s stance, accusing it of perpetuating “a troubling entitlement mindset” regarding federal funds.

Officials from the university said the letter arrived at a sensitive moment. The report added that Harvard had been in active dialogue with the task force for two weeks and believed there was still room to avoid a public dispute. Citing university officials it said that the tone and substance of the demands in the letter made reconciliation unlikely, the report said.

The newspaper said that the letter triggered “a tectonic battle between one of the country’s most prestigious universities and a US President”.

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