Harvard University has declared that it will invest $250 million in "critical research" following the announcement of new budget cuts by the US government.

Citing discrimination at one of the best colleges in the world, federal agencies are cutting $2.6 billion in grants to Harvard.

Harvard has sued the Trump administration for allegedly attempting to illegally take over parts of the university's operations.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, Harvard President Alan Garber and Provost John Manning stated, "We will mobilize financial resources to support critical research activity for a transitional period, even though we cannot absorb the entire cost of the suspended or canceled federal funds."

According to their statement, the university will "keep working with our researchers to find other funding sources."

It denounced the "unlawful freeze and termination" of funding, saying that they were "putting an end to crucial research and, in certain instances, losing years of essential work."
With an endowment estimated at $53.2 billion in 2024, Harvard is the richest institution in the United States.

The Ivy League school has angered Trump by defying his demands that it accept federal control over its political tilt, hiring procedures, and admissions.

The Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in federal funding last month as a result, and on Tuesday, it announced an additional $450 million in cuts.

The White House is retaliating against US institutions in a number of ways, citing the need to undo diversity initiatives that were intended to address historical persecution of minorities and what it claims is unchecked anti-Semitism.

Accusing international students participating in anti-war demonstrations in Gaza of aiding the Palestinian militant organization Hamas, it has also taken steps to cancel visas and deport them.

Long-standing conservative grievances that US college campuses are too liberal, excluding right-wing voices and giving preference to minorities, are echoed in Trump's diversity claims.