US news | The Guardian
· collected 2026-08-19 · by Joseph Gedeon in Washington
The Pentagon is threatening to cut federal funding from 30 US universities unless they review and terminate foreign academic partnerships deemed a national security risk by August 31. According to the list obtained by the Guardian, universities such as Harvard, MIT, and Stanford are among those ordered to conduct reviews. The Pentagon's directive aims to protect taxpayer-funded research from unauthorized technology transfers, intellectual-property theft, and exploitation by foreign adversaries, citing concerns over partnerships with Chinese institutions. A total of 130 foreign universities and research institutions have been identified by the Pentagon as engaging in activities that could divert US research and technology to foreign governments.
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Story summary
The Pentagon has threatened to cut federal funding from 30 universities unless they review and terminate foreign academic partnerships deemed a national security risk. The institutions, which include Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Johns Hopkins, among others, have been ordered to conduct reviews by August 31st. The Pentagon's directive is aimed at ties to Chinese institutions, with the goal of protecting taxpayer-funded research from unauthorized technology transfers and intellectual-property theft by foreign adversaries. The review process is intended to identify partnerships that compromise national security, and any found to be problematic must be ended. If the universities fail to comply, they may lose federal funding. A US official provided the list of 30 institutions to The Guardian, which included names such as University of California, Berkeley and Penn State University. The Pentagon's chief technology officer, Emil Michael, said in a news release that the Department of Defense has "zero tolerance" for academic partnerships that compromise national security.
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Thirty US universities could lose federal funding unless they review and cut foreign academic partnerships the Pentagon considers a national security risk within the next two weeks, under a Pentagon directive aimed largely at ties to Chinese institutions.
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Pentagon → lose → institutions
Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown and Cornell are among the institutions ordered to conduct and report the reviews – and end partnerships deemed problematic – by 31 August, according to a US official who provided the full list to the Guardian.
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who → order → Guardian
“The Department of War has zero tolerance for academic partnerships that compromise our national security,” Emil Michael, the Pentagon’s chief technology officer, said in a news release from Monday.
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Michael → have → Monday
The Pentagon said the reviews are intended to protect taxpayer-funded research from unauthorized technology transfers, intellectual-property theft and exploitation by foreign adversaries.
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reviews → say → adversaries
According to the US official, the 30 institutions also include the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California, San Diego; Penn State University; the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of Southern California; Duke University; and New York University.
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institutions → accord → California
The department’s public release did not name the universities.
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release → name → universities
The order follows the Pentagon’s release last month of an updated list of 130 foreign universities and research institutions that it says engage in activities increasing the risk that US-funded research and development could be misappropriated.
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research → follow → risk
Most are Chinese institutions, including the University of Science and Technology of China and the Academy of Military Medical Sciences; several Russian and Iranian institutions are also listed.
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institutions → include → Sciences
The Pentagon has claimed the foreign institutions on its list have been linked to activity that could allow US research and technology to be diverted to foreign governments.
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research → claim → governments
The list, required under a provision of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, was first developed during Donald Trump’s first term with help from the American Council on Education.
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list → require → Education
The administration’s campaign has increasingly placed US universities themselves under scrutiny.
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campaign → place → scrutiny
Last November, more than three dozen universities, including Harvard, Yale, Stanford and Duke, faced potential suspension from the state department’s Diplomacy Lab program, which pairs university researchers with state department policy offices on foreign policy projects, over their diversity, equity and inclusion hiring practices.
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which → include → practices
An internal memo and spreadsheet obtained by the Guardian at the time showed the department moving to remove 38 institutions from the program while adding 10 schools.
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department → obtain → schools
A US federal judge recently dismissed its lawsuit that claimed the university failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students from harassment in the aftermath of the war on Gaza.
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university → dismiss → Gaza
The justice department is also investigating whether Harvard allowed Chinese donors to establish scholarships that excluded American students, part of a wider series of federal investigations and disputes involving the Ivy League institution.
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that → investigate → institution
The Trump administration has repeatedly portrayed Beijing’s access to American technology, research and infrastructure as a national security concern.
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administration → portray → concern
It has also sought to counter Chinese influence across the western hemisphere, including Chinese involvement in ports near the Panama Canal, infrastructure financed through Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative and investment in telecommunications networks.
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It → seek → networks
China has rejected Washington’s characterization of academic cooperation as a security threat.
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China → reject → threat
A Chinese embassy spokesperson told the Associated Press that Beijing opposed the politicization of “normal scientific, educational, and academic exchanges” and urged Washington to “abandon the cold war mentality and foster an open, fair, and non-discriminatory environment” for academic and scientific exchanges between the two countries.
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Beijing → tell → countries
