Education secretary reveals 'progress' being made in talks with Harvard regarding admin's demands

“It’s very important that we are making sure that the students who are coming in and being on these campuses aren’t activists, that they’re not causing these activities," McMahon said. “Students should not come on campus and be afraid to be there and not feel safe to be on campus."

By Misty Severi

Published: June 6, 2025 4:01pm

Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Friday said Harvard and Columbia are making progress in meeting the demands of the Trump administration in regard to international students and antisemitism.

The Trump administration has taken multiple steps recently to punish Harvard University for its failure to crackdown on antisemitism, including revoking its Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification last month, which was blocked by a federal judge.

The administration has also lashed out at Harvard for not providing information to the federal government about its international students and students who engaged in multiple school protests last year.

McMahon told NBC News that she has now seen "progress" from the school in complying with the government's demands, but further action still needs to be taken.

"I have seen progress. And you know why I think we’re seeing progress? Because we are putting these measures in place, and we’re saying we’re putting teeth behind what we’re looking at," she said. “It’s very important that we are making sure that the students who are coming in and being on these campuses aren’t activists, that they’re not causing these activities.

“Students should not come on campus and be afraid to be there and not feel safe to be on campus," McMahon added.

McMahon also echoed President Donald Trump's statement on Thursday that Harvard could enroll foreign students if they disclose the names of those students to the government.

"We want to have foreign students come. We’re very honored by it, but we want to see their list," Trump said at the time. "Harvard didn’t want to give us the list. They’re going to be giving us the list now. I think they’re starting to behave, actually, if you want to know the truth."

The development comes after Trump signed a proclamation Wednesday that bars international students and faculty from coming into the United States just to study at Harvard, claiming they could pose a national security risk to the country.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.