The letter from the White House sent to Harvard University describing a list of requests concerning the hiring and admission of the university was sent without authorization, according to the New York Times, citing two anonymous people familiar with the issue.
The letter of April 11, which demanded that Harvard eliminate its Dei programs and detect international students for ideological concerns, among other radical changes, has been “unauthorized,” said people familiar to the Times problem.
The content of the letter was authentic, but “there were different accounts within the administration of how it had been poorly managed”.
The letter was signed by Josh Gruenbaum, Commissioner of the General Services Administration, Sean R. Kevney, Advocate General General for the Ministry of Health and Social Services and Thomas E. Wheeler, Acting General Councilor of the Ministry of Education.
A Harvard spokesman said in a statement to CNBC that “the letter that Harvard received on Friday April 11 had been signed by three federal officials, placed on an official header paper, was sent by e-mail to receive a senior federal official and was sent on April 11 as promised.”
“The beneficiaries of such a correspondence from the American government – even when it contains radical requirements which are amazing in their surpassing – does not question his authenticity or his seriousness,” said the spokesperson.
“We don’t know exactly what, among the words and recent acts of the government, were errors or what the government really wanted to do and say,” added the spokesperson.
“But even if the letter was a mistake, the actions that the government has taken this week have real consequences on students, patients, employees and the position of US higher education in the world.”
The White House did not immediately respond to the request for CNBC comments on the New York Times report.
The letter of April 11 sparked a public quarrel between the White House and Harvard.
The University rejected the White House requests on Monday which were submitted in the letter of April 11, putting nearly $ 9 billion in federal funding for the university in danger.
The White House responded quickly and, in response, said it would freeze around $ 2.2 billion in university grants.
According to the New York Times, the letter of April 11 came while lawyers at Harvard University were in dialogue with the White House on how the school managed anti -Semitism and other questions.
