Trump Proposes Redirecting $3 Billion from Harvard to US Trade Schools

In a bold and controversial move, US President Donald Trump has announced plans to reallocate $3 billion in federal research grants from Harvard University to vocational and trade schools across the United States. The proposal, shared via Trump’s Truth Social platform, reflects a growing ideological and policy rift between the administration and one of the country’s most prestigious universities.

Describing the reallocation as a “great investment” that America “so badly needed,” Trump’s announcement comes amid an ongoing funding freeze affecting Harvard and its affiliates. The administration has halted or withdrawn more than $3 billion in federal contracts and grants, citing unresolved concerns about antisemitism on campus, ideological bias, and non-compliance with federal requests related to foreign student data.

According to reports from The New York Times, federal authorities have demanded disciplinary records of international students and video surveillance footage of campus protests, part of a broader investigation into alleged extremist activity. Trump has accused Harvard of harboring “radicalized lunatics” among its foreign student body, claiming some individuals “should not be let back into our country.” Harvard has reportedly only partially responded to the government’s inquiries and has not issued an official statement in response to Trump’s latest remarks.

A significant portion of the frozen funding supports critical research at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, including studies on tuberculosis and multiple sclerosis. While this type of research typically falls outside the scope of vocational institutions, trade school advocates have welcomed the president’s initiative.

Jason Altmire, president of a national association representing trade schools and for-profit colleges, praised the proposal and broader efforts by the Trump administration to reduce federal oversight and shift support toward skill-based training. “President Trump has taken significant steps in this direction, and we are optimistic that his announcement will continue that momentum,” Altmire said.

This isn’t the first time Trump has challenged the financial structure of elite universities. During his 2023 presidential campaign, he floated a plan to tax large university endowments to fund a proposed “American Academy” — a free, online learning platform focused on both academic and vocational subjects. He promised it would be “strictly nonpolitical,” explicitly excluding what he called “wokeness or jihadism,” though further details have yet to materialize.

Meanwhile, Harvard is fighting back through legal channels. The university is currently embroiled in court cases in Boston, seeking to overturn the grant freezes and block federal efforts to tighten control over international student admissions. These lawsuits underscore the deepening conflict between the Trump administration and higher education institutions over funding, policy, and ideological values.

If implemented, the redirection of $3 billion in federal grants would mark a significant shift in education funding priorities, potentially reshaping the landscape of American higher education by diverting resources away from elite research institutions and toward vocational training programs nationwide.