If you want Harvard to be an elite liberal arts college, then sure they'll be fine. If you want them to be an elite research university that does some of the be

If you want Harvard to be an elite liberal arts college, then sure they'll be fine. If you want them to be an elite research university that does some of the best medical and scientific research in the world, then they will absolutely not be fine. That research is funded largely by the federal government, and we as a society have received enormous benefits from it. Also, gifts to endowments are typically restricted and cannot legally be redirected at will to pay operating expenses. The whole point of making a donation to an endowment is to leave a legacy that will last in perpetuity. The donors did not want the money spent to pay operating costs, and legally Harvard cannot go against the wishes of the donors.