Harvard Kennedy School announces layoffs after Trump cuts billions in funding

The Harvard Kennedy School of Establishment will lay off staff after federal funding cuts and endowment tax threats on Wednesday according to an email from the dean of the school that was obtained by Fox News Digital Without mentioning the Trump administration directly Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy M Weinstein communicated in an email to faculty and staff that the cuts were in response to unprecedented new headwinds creating key financial challenges These included a substantial proposed increase in the endowment tax and massive cuts to federal funding of research He also cited the impact on international novice enrollment after the administration eliminated the novice visa initiative due to pro-terrorist conduct at Harvard's campus protests According to the Kennedy School international students made up percent of the school s learner body last year and percent on average in the past five years HARVARD UPDATES LAWSUIT AFTER TRUMP CANCELS ADDITIONAL M IN FUNDINGThe Kennedy School has been planning for budget cuts since February but the White House s current actions appear to have exacerbated the circumstances The Trump administration froze billion in funding to the university and threatened to revoke its tax-exempt status due to its handling of antisemitism on campus in the wake of the October terror attacks on Israel by Hamas The Department of Guidance s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism issued a declaration on May citing contemporary reporting that has exposed the Harvard Law Review s HLR pattern of endemic race discrimination when evaluating articles for inclusion in its journal The findings resulted in the Trump administration cutting an additional million in grants from the university In addition to layoffs Harvard has implemented central actions to reduce costs across the Kennedy School Weinstein declared such as pauses in hiring and merit-based pay ending a lease on the first floor of an office building halting non-urgent construction and renovation projects and reducing spending across each core department Unfortunately those efforts alone will not be enough to address our current financial challenges the dean wrote As a upshot we need to lay off specific members of our gang and restructure other positions to ensure the long-term financial future of the Kennedy School TRUMP FROZE FUNDING FOR HARVARD MONEY TO THESE UNIVERSITIES MAY ALSO BE ON THE CHOPPING BLOCKWeinstein stated that managers would inform staff affected by the layoffs on Wednesday afternoon This is an extremely intricate moment and one that we did everything viable to avoid Weinstein added I am truly sorry that we need to take this step as we handle unprecedented challenges as a School and University Weinstein wrote while also noting that the administration's actions caused even greater financial uncertainty The Harvard Kennedy School declined to disclose to Fox News Digital how a large number of staff members were laid off The Harvard School of Community Vitality implemented layoffs in April and other schools are considering cutting staff as well the Harvard Crimson broadcasted Thursday The Trump administration did not straightaway respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment