Pentagon severs Harvard links over woke disputes, ceasing training, programmes and fellowships
The US Department of Defense is to end all its professional military education, fellowship, and certificate programmes with Harvard University, in a move announced by the Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth.
In a statement, Mr Hegseth labelled the Ivy League institution as “woke” and “one of the red-hot centers of Hate America activism”. He claimed that too many faculty members “openly loathe our military” and “squelch anyone who challenges their leftist political leanings”.
The decision marks an escalation in a long-running campaign by the Trump administration against Harvard and other top US universities. The administration has alleged that these institutions promote antisemitism and leftist ideology, and has sought to pressure them to align with its worldview.
Earlier this week, former President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he would be seeking $1bn in damages from Harvard over allegations it enabled antisemitism. The university’s president, Alan Garber, has previously rejected such allegations as false and characterised the administration’s actions as an attack on academic freedom.
Mr Hegseth framed the Pentagon’s move as part of a focus on “building lethality”, which he said “no longer includes spending millions of dollars on expensive universities that actively undercut our mission and undercut our country”. He added that the Ivy League as a whole suffers from “pervasive institutional bias and a lack of viewpoint diversity”.
The defence secretary, who holds a master’s degree from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, concluded his announcement by stating: “We train warriors, not wokesters. Harvard: good riddance.” His criticism of the university is longstanding, having disparaged it in two books and, in 2022, staged a television segment where he defaced his own diploma.
The administration’s broader campaign has focused on issues including pro-Palestinian protests, diversity programmes, transgender policies, and climate initiatives. Specific demands made to Harvard include ending its diversity initiatives, banning face masks, and providing information to US immigration authorities.
Mr Hegseth stated that, within two weeks, the army, navy, and air force will evaluate all existing graduate programmes for active-duty service members at all Ivy League and other civilian universities, as detailed by The Guardian.
