The Trump administration is preparing to halt $2.2 billion in multi-year federal grants to Harvard University following the school’s refusal to comply with federal demands to address antisemitism and improve screening of international students with potentially hostile views toward the United States.

The action comes amid a broader federal effort to protect the civil rights of Jewish students in the wake of pro-Hamas protests on college campuses across the country.

The administration cites the university’s failure to discipline students involved in antisemitic demonstrations following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel as a key factor in its decision.

CNN’s political panel clashed over the issue Tuesday during a segment of “The Arena with Kasie Hunt.”

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CNN contributor Lulu Garcia-Navarro criticized the funding cutoff as politically motivated and unfair, arguing that taxpayer dollars should not be used in a punitive way.

“The idea of the federal government is that you’re supposed to actually, you know, look at the people of the United States and try to deal with them fairly,” Garcia-Navarro said.

In response, CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings defended President Donald Trump’s decision, arguing that it is about protecting students' civil rights.

“And who do the people elect to be stewards of their money? The President of the United States, and he’s standing up for these Jewish students,” Jennings said.

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“Who gets to spend the money? Who has to cut the checks? Who has to faithfully execute the laws of this country? It’s the president, and the civil rights of these students have been violated.”

The debate follows a congressional investigation that found Harvard issued no discipline to students who participated in antisemitic protests and encampments that disrupted campus life.

The protests included multi-day occupations, class disruptions, and rhetoric supporting Hamas.

Harvard President Alan Garber responded in a statement on Monday, asserting that the university “will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.”

Garcia-Navarro further accused Trump of “weaponizing” federal funding for political gain, suggesting that the administration's response goes beyond antisemitism.

Jennings pushed back, saying, “[Trump’s] standing up for people who have no advocates on these campuses. Nobody on these campuses will stand up for them because it’s not in vogue to do so on the campus. President Trump is standing up for these kids and that’s why [Harvard] is upset about it.”

Jennings also questioned why taxpayer funds should be directed toward an elite institution with a $53 billion endowment.

“If you went out to the American people right now and said ‘well, we’re just not gonna make it as a country unless we give $9 billion to Harvard,’” he said, “you’d get your ass kicked, I imagine, in a political campaign.”

He concluded by warning that elite universities pose a national security risk by admitting and producing students who “fundamentally hate western civilization.”

The policy action comes as anti-Israel protests have swept college campuses throughout 2024, with students demanding that institutions divest from Israel.

Jewish students at multiple universities have reported harassment, intimidation, and threats during encampments and unauthorized occupations.

In a related enforcement move, the Trump administration is moving forward with deportation proceedings against Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian-born Palestinian activist who was involved in an encampment protest at Columbia University.

Federal officials allege that Khalil’s conduct was sympathetic to Hamas, and cite his case as part of a broader effort to combat extremist ideologies on U.S. campuses.

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