Trump administration says US hospitals linked to Harvard will not face funding cuts
The Trump administration has clarified that the hospitals affiliated with Harvard University will not be impacted by the $2.2 billion federal funding freeze imposed on the university. This announcement came after confusion arose regarding the potential for funding cuts to Harvard’s medical affiliates, which include Mass General Brigham and other major hospitals. The clarification was made public on October 15, 2025, by a spokesperson from the Department of Education.
The freeze is part of a broader review of federal funding to Harvard, initiated by the Trump administration following political and social concerns surrounding the university. While the university’s main research programs are facing a significant halt in federal funding, the affiliated hospitals were confirmed to be exempt from the cuts. This decision comes after tensions escalated between the university and the administration, particularly after Harvard rejected the government’s demands for institutional changes. The Trump administration had previously hinted that hospital funding could also be affected, but that was later clarified by the Education Department.
Funding pause applies only to Harvard University
As reported by The Harvard Crimson, Madison Biedermann, a spokesperson for the Department of Education, stated that the funding pause would apply exclusively to Harvard University itself and not to the independent hospitals affiliated with it. Harvard’s teaching hospitals, which include renowned institutions like Mass General Brigham, are separately incorporated and operate independently from the university. “The funding pause is limited to Harvard University. It will not affect the hospitals,” Biedermann confirmed.
In response, Anne Klibanski, CEO of Mass General Brigham, assured researchers that the funding threats posed by the Trump administration would not impact the hospitals’ operations. In a letter to researchers on October 15, Klibanski emphasized that the hospitals, which are independent entities, would not face the same challenges. “These cuts are not applicable to our separately incorporated and independently operated medical and research hospitals,” Klibanski wrote, as quoted by The Harvard Crimson.
A distinction between the university and its hospitals
The distinction between Harvard University and its affiliated hospitals has been important in the current funding standoff. Although most teaching hospitals are owned by the universities they are associated with, Harvard’s hospital system operates independently, with an agreement that the hospitals will support medical students from Harvard Medical School. The hospitals also offer faculty appointments to physicians at the university.
Despite the exclusion from the funding freeze, the future of research at Harvard University remains uncertain, with many projects now at risk due to the loss of critical government funding. However, for now, Harvard’s hospitals continue to be unaffected by the ongoing political clash between the university and the Trump administration.
