The letter that escalated tensions between Harvard and the White House may have been sent by accident, according to reports from The New York Times.
Sean Keveney, the acting general counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services, reportedly sent the list of demands that prompted Harvard to openly defy the Trump administration in error, with officials saying it was “unauthorized.”
Newsweek contacted the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services for comment on this story via email.
The Context
Harvard and the White House are currently in open conflict with each other, after Harvard President Alan Garber said that the university would not comply with a list of White House demands to dismantle DEI initiatives and crack down on student protests.
In response, the Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in the college’s federal grants, with Trump threatening to abolish the college’s tax-exempt status for supporting “political, ideological, and terrorist inspired sickness.”
What To Know
However, The New York Times is now reporting that the letter that escalated the conflict was not meant to be sent by government officials.
According to White House sources, the letter, which was sent by acting general counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services Sean Keveney, was “unauthorized,” and was not approved for sending.
Stock Image: Tourists in front of the main gate to Harvard Yard on April 15, 2025 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Stock Image: Tourists in front of the main gate to Harvard Yard on April 15, 2025 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Getty Images
The contents of the letter were reportedly an accurate representation of the White House’s position, but there was disagreement over how the issue should be raised with Harvard due to ongoing negotiations between the college and the administration—negotiations which Harvard felt it had to end once the letter was received.
Who Is Sean Keveney?
Sean Keveney is the acting general counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services, and also a member of the Trump administration’s antisemitism taskforce.
Keveney has been a legal counsel of the Health Department for five years, working for 15 years at the Department of Justice before that, joining the government during former President George W. Bush‘s first term in 2003.
Keveney was one of three lawyers leading negotiations with Harvard over potential policy changes, which had taken up over two weeks of meetings when the letter of demands was sent on Friday.
What People Are Saying
Harvard President Alan Garber said in an open letter on Monday: “The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. No government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”
What To Know
Harvard has maintained that it will not meet any of the White House’s demands. President Donald Trump has said that his government is exploring the possibility of revoking the college’s tax exemptions.
