The Pentagon will cut all academic ties with Harvard University, ending military education, fellowships and certificate programmes, it said in a statement on Friday.
The move marks the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s dispute with Harvard over claims that the Ivy League institution promotes “woke” ideology.
“For too long, this department has sent our best and brightest officers to Harvard, hoping the university would better understand and appreciate our warrior class,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. “Instead, too many of our officers came back looking too much like Harvard — heads full of globalist and radical ideologies that do not improve our fighting ranks.”
The Pentagon said the severance would begin in the 2026–27 academic year, although military personnel currently enrolled would be allowed to complete their studies.
In a separate post on X, using his preferred term for the Department of Defense, Hegseth wrote: “Harvard is woke; the War Department is not.”
Hegseth added that the Pentagon would review its relationships with all Ivy League institutions involved in military training and education.
“The goal is to determine whether they actually deliver cost-effective strategic education for future senior leaders, compared with public universities and our own military graduate programmes,” he said.
Hegseth himself is an Ivy League graduate, having attended both Princeton University and Harvard. He has previously criticised Harvard for what he described as left-leaning policies and reportedly returned his degree to the university during his time as a Fox News host.
The announcement comes amid broader tensions between the Trump administration and elite universities. On Monday, President Donald Trump said his administration would seek $1 billion in damages from Harvard after a New York Times report said the university had secured some concessions in ongoing settlement negotiations with the government.
Administration officials have accused Harvard and other universities of failing to adequately protect Jewish students during pro-Palestinian protests, filing legal complaints and demanding substantial financial penalties.
The administration’s pressure campaign has prompted concerns among academics including Harvard’s former president, about the potential erosion of academic freedom.
Trump has previously sought to cut more than $2.6 billion in federal funding to Harvard and has moved to block the entry of international students, who make up about a quarter of the university’s student body.
AFP
