AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.The administration’s latest attack on the nation’s oldest university comes as negotiations stall for a settlement to restore billions in frozen federal research funds.Listen · 5:42 min Students on campus at Harvard University this month.Credit...Sophie Park for The New York TimesSept. 19, 2025The Trump administration on Friday opened a new front in its pressure campaign on Harvard University, demanding proof of the financial stability of the nation’s oldest and wealthiest college as well as a guarantee that federal debts will be paid if the school “closes or terminates classes.”The government letter asking for the information does not include any specific allegations that Harvard has failed to meet its obligations. It comes after the administration has spent months pointing to the university’s wealth and “colossal endowment” as a reason to question its reliance on federal research funding.Still, the administration is insisting on a guarantee of more than $36 million, representing about 30 percent of the federal financial aid that has flowed to the university during the past year, because of financial risks posed by more than a dozen government investigations targeting the university.Harvard officials have never suggested that the university’s financial footing is in any immediate danger. The school has the largest endowment of any in the nation, but most of that $53 billion fund is restricted for specific purposes.University leaders have, however, expressed concerns about the potential long-term effect of the monthslong battle with the administration, which has resulted in the freezing of billions of dollars in federal research funds.In a separate letter, the administration on Friday also warned Harvard about additional enforcement actions from the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights unless the university provides more documents related to its admissions policies, including individualized student data on race, gender and standardized test scores.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT