Secretary of War called the university a “woke” and said similar actions will be evaluated for other institutions
The United States Department of Defense announced on Friday (6.Feb.2026) that the Pentagon has ended professional military education programs, scholarships and certification courses with the . The decision comes at a time of conflict between the president (Republican Party) and the institution.
“Consider this long overdue. The Department of Defense is formally ending all Professional Military Education programs, scholarships, and certificate programs with Harvard University. Harvard is ; the Department of Defense does not”stated the Secretary of Defense, , in his profile on X.
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He said, however, that students who are already enrolled will be able to complete their courses. According to Hegseth, similar decisions will be evaluated for other universities in the coming weeks.
Understand the case
The clash with Harvard has been frequent during the Republican government and has already involved measures to pressure funds, contracts and foreign student policy.
In April, the White House awarded $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to the university after Harvard rejected changes requested by the Trump administration.
Just over 1 month later, the DHS (United States Department of Homeland Security) issued authorization that allows the institution to accept international students, with effect scheduled for the 2025-2026 academic year.
In May, the government and federal agencies canceled remaining contracts with the university, estimated to be worth approximately $100 million.
In June, federal judge Allison Burroughs issued a proclamation from Trump that barred Harvard from admitting foreign students, keeping the temporary restriction in effect until the end of the court case.
In July, the university to commit up to $500 million to end the dispute with the federal government. The movement, and a coalition of groups at the university called on the institution to reject any pay deal or restrictions that, according to the letter, would threaten university autonomy and create a precedent.
In the Judiciary, Harvard obtained favorable decisions on another front. In September, a federal judge terminated subsidies and ordered the government not to suspend funds for the university, in a decision taken in Boston.
This week, Trump received US$1 billion in compensation from Harvard and defended that the government’s investigations into the university proceed to the criminal sphere.
