Trump’s Harvard funding cuts don’t put ‘America first,’ says Massachusetts governor

Democratic Gov. Maura Healey of Massachusetts says the Trump administration’s “attack on science” through federal funding cuts will not only affect Harvard and other major research universities, but they will also negatively impact the U.S. economy.

Healey argues that President Trump’s funding cuts don’t put “America first,” and that cuts are forcing scientists and researchers out of the country, making the U.S. “weaker and less competitive.”

“China is on our campuses right now recruiting away faculty and staff and students, saying, ‘Come to China and you can study and research there.’ So it’s not good for our economy,” she told Morning Edition.

Harvard sued the Trump administration after it froze more than $2.2 billion in federal funding for the university, arguing that the government is violating the First Amendment and not following legal procedures.

During a hearing Monday in Massachusetts, U.S. District Court Judge Allison Burroughs scheduled oral arguments for July 21. Harvard asked for a final decision on an expedited schedule rather than an immediate order to restore the money. This means that, unless the White House reverses the freeze, Harvard will be without what it says is critical funding for at least the next 12 weeks.

Massachusetts and 18 other states are suing the administration, arguing that its threats to withhold federal funding from states and districts with diversity, equity and inclusion programs are illegal.

In the face of these challenges, Healey, a Harvard graduate, said her job and that of other Democratic governors, is to push back against the administration’s demands, or the country will risk losing its “intellectual capital” to global rivals.

Healey and NPR’s A Martínez further discussed the ramifications of the Trump administration’s federal funding cuts to universities and public schools across the country.

The following excerpt has been edited for clarity and length. 

Interview highlights

A Martínez: Your state is seen as a capital of sorts for higher education. How do you approach the pressure the Trump administration is putting on Harvard and other schools?

Maura Healey: Well, I think it’s about being clear about what’s happening. Unfortunately, Donald Trump has engaged in an attack on science and an attack on research. It’s showing up in the cuts that he’s making, both to NIH funding, for example, and also to colleges and universities. And this has serious and detrimental consequences, not just for the colleges and universities, but for our economy. The scientists and the researchers who are discovering life saving cures and treatments, discovering the next technologies for our own military, for our own security, these folks, we’re going to be losing to other countries. And that’s not America first. That’s not making us more competitive. It’s making us weaker and less competitive.

Martínez: Governor, we just heard from Marc Short, a long time adviser to President Trump’s first Vice President, Mike Pence. He mentioned that he doesn’t really think a school like Harvard gets much sympathy around the country. Is that something that you can understand?

Healey: Well, I would disagree with that, because, first of all, this is an issue that is far beyond Harvard. It’s much bigger than Harvard. We’ve seen cuts to colleges and universities and research institutions in just about every state in this country. And I’ll tell you that as a result of that, life saving clinical trials and treatments have been stopped.

Other countries are recruiting away faculty and scientists, taking away our intellectual capital. The manufacturers, who make the parts and the equipment for our labs and for our research, are not getting orders. It has a detrimental impact on our economy. Massachusetts, for example, every dollar invested yields $2 to $3 in additional GDP growth for our state. And so, with that going away, we have serious and negative effects on our economy. And that’s on top of what Donald Trump is already doing to tank the economy with tariffs and with other inflationary tactics that are just making life more expensive. This isn’t good. And it needs to be reversed.

Martínez: Democrats have said that the president is exceeding his power on issue after issue. But what’s the strategy then for pushing back on that?

Healey: I can tell you what governors are doing, in particular, Democratic governors, we’re on the front lines. We’re seeing firsthand the impact of President Trump’s action. We’re seeing what it means to have veterans services gutted and people laid off in our states. We understand what it means to have education funding slashed and the effect on our students, especially poor students and students with special needs and disabilities. And I think the job is to push back to make sure that people are in courts. The attorneys general have been successful, and in court, at stopping some of these illegal and unconstitutional actions.

The digital story was edited by Obed Manuel and Kristian Monroe.