Donald Trump’s administration has terminated an additional $450mn in grants to Harvard University, marking a further escalation in the US president’s attack on the elite university.

The US government said on Tuesday that Harvard’s failure to “confront the pervasive race discrimination and antisemitic harassment plaguing its campus” had resulted in eight federal agencies terminating about $450mn in grants to the university. This is in addition to the $2.2bn that was cut last week.

The decision intensifies the battle between Harvard and Trump, who said earlier this month that he would scrap the university’s tax-exempt status. The administration also said recently that the institution would no longer be eligible for new federal government research grants.