After initially agreeing to several demands from the Trump administration, Columbia University's acting president took a more defiant tone in a campus message Monday, saying some of the demands "are not subject to negotiation."

In her statement, Claire Shipman said she read of Harvard's rejection with "great interest." Columbia was previously seen as a prime candidate to challenge the administration's demands and faced blowback from faculty and free speech groups when it agreed to make concessions instead.

"Harvard is obviously a particularly powerful institution. And its decision has potential to galvanize other universities into some kind of collective pushback," said David Pozen, a Columbia law professor who argued that the government's demands are unlawful.

Trump threatened Tuesday to escalate the dispute, suggesting on social media that Harvard should lose its tax-exempt status "if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting 'Sickness?'"

The impasse raises questions about how far the administration is willing to go. However it plays out, a legal battle is likely. A faculty group has already brought a court challenge against the demands, and many in academia expect Harvard to bring its own lawsuit.

In its refusal letter, Harvard said the government's demands violate the school's First Amendment rights and other civil rights laws.

University poses first big obstacle in administration's push for change

For the Trump administration, Harvard presents the first major hurdle in its attempt to force change at universities that Republicans say have become hotbeds of liberalism and antisemitism.

The conflict is straining the longstanding relationship between the federal government and universities that use federal money to fuel scientific breakthroughs. Long seen as a benefit to the greater good, that money has become an easy source of leverage for the Trump administration.

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