Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dropped a Friday bombshell: the Pentagon is cutting ties with Harvard University on military education programs. We're talking fellowships, training programs, certificate courses—the whole nine yards.
"The @DeptWar is formally ending ALL Professional Military Education, fellowships, and certificate programs with Harvard University," Hegseth wrote on X, throwing in the word "woke" for good measure.
This isn't happening in a vacuum. The Trump administration has been systematically ramping up pressure on top universities, with Harvard squarely in the crosshairs. The targets? Pro-Palestinian protests against Israel, a key U.S. ally, plus diversity programs, transgender policies, and climate initiatives that have drawn the administration's ire.
Hegseth has made his views on elite universities crystal clear before. Back in 2023, he said Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania are "not elite schools, they're just expensive."
The Financial Squeeze
The military training cutoff comes after President Donald Trump demanded $1 billion in damages from Harvard earlier this week, claiming the university interfered with federal investigations. That's on top of frozen federal funding and revoked research grants already totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.
Harvard hasn't commented on Friday's announcement yet. The university previously sued the administration over funding freezes, which prompted Trump to call for a $500 million settlement.
