The U.S. Pentagon announced that it will terminate all military training, scholarships and certificate programs with Harvard University, escalating the long-standing confrontation between the Trump administration and the Ivy League schools over higher education reform.U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegers said on Friday that the decision would take effect from the 2026-27 academic year and would end graduate-level professional military education offered by Harvard University. Those currently registered will be allowed to complete their courses. He added that similar programs at other Ivy League universities will be reviewed in the coming weeks.“Harvard no longer serves the needs of the Department of the Army or the military services,” Hegseth said in a statement. “For too long, the department has sent our best and brightest officers to Harvard in the hope that the school would better understand and appreciate our warrior class. Instead, too many of our officers have come back looking too much like Harvard—full of globalism and radical ideologies that don’t improve our fight.“In another article on X, Hegseth wrote, “Harvard wakes up; the War Department doesn’t.”The move is part of a broader campaign by President Donald Trump’s administration against Harvard, which has been at the center of its efforts to reshape America’s most prestigious university. Last April, after Harvard rejected a series of government requests, federal officials slashed billions of dollars in research funding to the school and tried to ban it from recruiting foreign students.The White House said the measures were intended to punish Harvard for tolerating anti-Semitic bigotry on campus. However, Harvard leaders argued that they faced unlawful retaliation for refusing to adopt the administration’s ideological positions. The university has filed two lawsuits against the government, and federal judges ruled in favor of Harvard in both cases. The government is appealing the decisions.Tensions appeared to ease this summer after Trump hinted at a deal with Harvard, but talks stalled. On Monday, the president proposed a request for $1 billion from universities as a condition of restoring federal funding, double the amount previously proposed.Hegseth himself earned a master’s degree from Harvard University, but publicly returned his diploma during a 2022 Fox News appearance. A Pentagon social media account later retweeted the video, showing him writing “Return to Sender” on his diploma.The U.S. military has traditionally allowed officers to pursue graduate education through its own war colleges and civilian institutions of choice. While civilian degrees often have limited direct benefit for military promotion, they can improve career prospects after service.
