1 day ago
12
President Donald Trump isn't about to tolerate antisemitism, and a specialized DOJ task force fronted by Leo Terrell is on the case.
"We have tolerated antisemitism for the last four years," the civil rights attorney told "The Faulkner Focus" on Tuesday.
"Thank goodness President Trump is in office. He's not going to tolerate it. He's going to eliminate it. That's why I'm in this role right now. That's why Pam Bondi is the attorney general, and Harmeet Dhillon is the civil rights head," he continued.
The Trump administration has frozen nearly $3 billion in funding for the Ivy League institution thus far and is now fighting to prevent the school from enrolling more foreign students.
The administration's push to bar enrollment of such students, who comprise approximately 27% of the student body, has been temporarily put on hold after a judge blocked the move, and the case is on hold until Thursday.
HARVARD UPDATES LAWSUIT AFTER TRUMP CANCELS ADDITIONAL $450M IN FUNDING
Leo Terrell, the head of the Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism and Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, speaking at the White House. (Kent Nishimura)
Terrell said the Trump administration will have to "match" Harvard in court as a legal blitz ensues, telling Fox News, "This is going to be a battle in the courtroom. If it goes all the way to the Supreme Court, Trump is going to do that… that's why the task force is here."
"Four years ago, nothing happened, but we're going to have to fight these lawsuits. We're going to have to take the money away…"
He added that coming to school in the U.S. on a student visa is a "privilege" and refuted claims that have shrouded alleged antisemitic happenings on campus under the guise of "academic freedom."
"This is not academic freedom. This is antisemitism in its purest… form, and it's being tolerated not only in universities, but throughout the country," he said.
TRUMP FROZE FUNDING FOR HARVARD. MONEY TO THESE UNIVERSITIES MAY ALSO BE ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK
People walk through the gate on Harvard Yard at the Harvard University campus on June 29, 2023 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard has been in the Trump administration's crosshairs amid antisemitism allegations. ( )
The Trump administration has continually insisted Harvard has failed to comply with demands to rid the campus of alleged antisemitism.
Responding to recent rhetoric from the Trump administration, Harvard University President Alan Garber told NPR in a recent broadcast that the school needs to remain "firm" in its commitments to what it stands for.
"And what we stand for – and I believe I speak for other universities – is education, pursuit of the truth, helping to educate people for better futures…"
Garber also pushed back against Trump's floated idea to reallocate Harvard funding to trade schools, telling the outlet, "The money that goes to research universities in the form of grants and contracts, which is almost all the federal support that we get, is used to pay for work that we perform at the behest of the government."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"So, in reallocating to some other use, including trade schools, it means that work just won’t be performed," he said. "So, the right question is, is this the most effective use of federal funding? Do you really want to cut back on research dollars?"
Garber continued, "I'm less concerned about whether it goes to a trade school or if it goes to some other project, like working on highways. The real question is, how much value does the federal government get from its expenditures on research? There is a lot of actual research demonstrating the returns to the American people have been enormous."
Taylor Penley is an associate editor with Fox News.
