Harvard and senior Trump administration officials have escalated a correspondence campaign, exchanging private letters as part of the administration’s broader effort to challenge university policies it sees as politically biased. The back‑and‑forth raises questions about federal leverage over institutional governance, donor relations, and research funding decisions at elite campuses. Harvard has pushed back, framing the exchange as part of a wider fight over academic independence and regulatory oversight. University presidents and board chairs should prepare for more formalized administrative scrutiny and potential policy requests tied to federal funding and investigations.