Harvard decries Trump administration's "unlawful attempts" to control school

• "Harvard's efforts to achieve these goals are undermined and threatened by the federal government's overreach into the constitutional freedoms of private universities and its continuing disregard of Harvard's compliance with the law," he wrote.

Context: Garber's letter comes in response to the Trump administration saying it would pause all new federal grant funding for the university.

• McMahon accused the university of violating federal law, amid other allegations.
• Harvard has sued, arguing the government's demands violate the school's constitutional rights.

Driving the news: "I must refute your claim that Harvard is a partisan institution," Garber wrote on Monday. "It is neither Republican nor Democratic. It is not an arm of any other political party or movement. Nor will it ever be."

• He said the university would not surrender its "core principles" over fear of retaliation.

Zoom in: Garber laid out the ways the university is combatting antisemitism and other bigotry and promoting intellectual diversity.

• He also wrote that Harvard students and faculty are selected based on merit, not for quotas.

Read the full letter:

Go deeper:

• Harvard warns faculty of funding cuts ahead
• Trump admin to halt new grant funding to Harvard