The administration of US President Donald Trump increased pressure on Harvard University on Monday by imposing new restrictions on access to federal student aid funds, citing concerns about the "financial position" of the oldest and richest university in the United States, Reuters reports.
The US Department of Education said Harvard has been placed under "enhanced cash flow supervision," meaning the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based university will have to use its own funds to pay out federal student aid before it can withdraw funds from the department.
The ministry is also asking Harvard to provide a letter of credit in the amount of $36 million to ensure that it will meet its financial obligations.
In a separate letter to Harvard, the Department of Education warned that its Office for Civil Rights may take additional action against the university if it does not provide more documents needed to assess whether race is being unlawfully considered in the student admissions process.
Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This university, which has a fund of 53 billion dollars, has never suggested that it is facing financial disaster.
However, in recent months, the university has implemented layoffs and cut costs after President Trump's administration launched a campaign to try to use federal funds as leverage for change at Harvard and other universities, which the president claims are susceptible to anti-Semitism and radical leftist ideologies.
Harvard said in July that the combined effect of recent federal measures could cost its budget about $1 billion a year. The university sued the administration over some of those measures, and a judge ruled this month that the government illegally cut more than $2 billion worth of research grants awarded to Harvard.
The Donald Trump administration is trying to force Harvard to settle. The president said during a recent cabinet meeting that Harvard should pay "no less than $500 million" because it "has been very bad."
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