James Lynch writes for National Review Online about the Trump administration’s approach toward a leading Ivy League school.

The Trump administration is freezing over $2 billion in federal funds to Harvard University, hours after the Ivy League school indicated it rejected the federal government’s demands for various policy reforms intended to restore ideological balance on campus.

The multi-agency Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism announced on Monday evening it would freeze Harvard’s $2.2 billion in multiyear grants and a $60 million contract.

“Harvard’s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation’s most prestigious universities and colleges – that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws,” the task force said in a statement.

The swift action came in response to Harvard’s letter to the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and the General Services Administration — all members of the federal task force. In the letter, Harvard accused the federal government of disregarding its First Amendment freedoms and failing to prove the alleged harms that inform the administration’s demands.

“It is unfortunate, then, that your letter disregards Harvard’s efforts and instead presents demands that, in contravention of the First Amendment, invade university freedoms long recognized by the Supreme Court. The government’s terms also circumvent Harvard’s statutory rights by requiring unsupported and disruptive remedies for alleged harms that the government has not proven through mandatory processes established by Congress and required by law,” Harvard’s attorneys wrote. …

… Harvard remains open to discussions with the Trump administration, even though it is rejecting the initial demands. The White House is currently reviewing nearly $9 billion in federal funding to Harvard as it investigates whether the university is adequately addressing campus antisemitism and complying with federal civil rights law.

Trump’s task force on antisemitism is investigating Harvard in accordance with the president’s executive order on combating antisemitic harassment within federally funded institutions.