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Pro-Palestinian rally in the U.S., U.S. President Donald Trump
(Photo: Boston Globe, GettyImages)
This month, Garber was thrust back into the headlines — this time as an unexpected symbol of resistance to Donald Trump’s widening effort to bring U.S. institutions under his control, from the IRS and courts to major law firms and elite universities.
Harvard received a letter from the “Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism” — a U.S. government-backed initiative widely seen as a vehicle for exerting political pressure on universities.
The letter included a set of demands that, if accepted, would have effectively placed Harvard under the Trump administration’s authority. Garber flatly refused. His defiant “no” made him an overnight icon.
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr showed up to a press conference in a Harvard shirt to signal support. “This is exactly how you stand up to a bully,” he told reporters.
Trump’s administration has since threatened to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status but by Friday night, officials leaked to The New York Times that the letter “wasn’t actually supposed to be sent.”
Garber is one of only a handful of public figures currently offering any meaningful resistance to Trump. Another name to emerge is federal judge James Boasberg, the first to block the administration’s effort to deport migrants without due process.
Appointed by Republican George H. W. Bush and later promoted by Democrat Barack Obama with unanimous Senate approval, Boasberg has become a frequent target of Trump’s attacks and now receives heightened security following threats to his life.
Last month, federal marshals warned of a disturbing trend: political opponents are sending pizza deliveries to judges’ homes as a veiled threat to let them know their addresses are known.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has also resisted Trump’s pressure — so far. Powell has refused to cut interest rates despite administration demands, citing fears that Trump’s proposed tariffs would fuel inflation.
Though Trump appointed Powell in his first term, he now expects full loyalty. “I’m not happy with him,” Trump recently told reporters. “And if I decide he needs to go, he’ll go fast.”
These isolated instances of pushback have been joined by growing weekend protests across the U.S., filling a void left by members of Congress, many of whom remain silent. In a viral clip last week, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska choked up as she said, “We’re all afraid. Retaliation is real.”
Inside the White House, officials appear unfazed. A senior administration source told The Wall Street Journal: “This is a perfect opportunity for us to paint Democrats, the courts and the universities as out of touch with the voters who sent Trump back to the White House.”
