Harvard University has been hit with a $2.3bn federal funding freeze after the Ivy League institution took a stand against the Trump administration’s ongoing demands.

The freeze, representing 35.9 percent of Harvard’s $6.4bn operating expenses, immediately followed a letter on Monday from Harvard University lawyers to the Trump administration, stating that it rejected the government’s demands.

The letter, issued by Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and LLP King & Spalding LLP, said that “The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.”

Harvard is the first university to take a stand against the government, which said it is investigating 60 universities over allegations of antisemitism. Several Ivy League schools have already had funding threatened or cancelled.