During an appearance on CNN Tuesday, Summers, who served as Harvard's president from 2001 to 2006, said the move is similar to "what was done to any number of law firms, just like what was done to government agencies that had appropriated funds."

He added there there are certain policies of Harvard that he has criticized, but said that "simply cutting off all funding for cancer research" does not make sense.

"That's not some gift Harvard got," he added.

Summers, who served in former President Bill Clinton's cabinet, said Harvard is "the tip of the iceberg in terms of what they're attacking."

"The homeland secretary made clear that Harvard was an example for everyone else," he noted.

"I frankly never thought that I would say it about anything in American government. But this is a step towards tyranny. It's a step towards an authoritarian government," the former secretary warned.

"It's the kind of thing that has happened in many other parts of the world. It's the kind of thing that the founding fathers worried about when they drafted the Constitution," he added.

In response to a question from host Erin Burnett, Summers said Harvard can indeed run down its $53 billion endowment. "But if it does, it will be running down the ability to provide scholarships to students. It will be running down the ability to hire new professors."