The Trump administration has opened an examination of the government’s financial relationship with Harvard University, an indication that the nation’s richest college could be the next to lose its federal contracts and grants over its handling of campus antisemitism.
The Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism said Monday that it has launched a “comprehensive review” into $8.7 billion in multi-year federal grant commitments, as well as $255.6 million in contracts, between Harvard and its affiliates.
The review is intended to ensure that Harvard is “in compliance with federal regulations, including its civil rights responsibilities,” but it comes as an ill omen for the university, given what happened earlier this month to Columbia University.
The administration on March 7 canceled $400 million in contracts and grants with Columbia over its “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students,” culminating Friday in the ouster of Interim President Katrina Armstrong.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon sounded a similar theme with Harvard, blasting its “failure to protect students on campus from anti-Semitic discrimination.”
“Harvard has served as a symbol of the American Dream for generations – the pinnacle aspiration for students all over the world to work hard and earn admission to the storied institution,” she said in a Monday statement. “Harvard’s failure to protect students on campus from anti-Semitic discrimination – all while promoting divisive ideologies over free inquiry – has put its reputation in serious jeopardy.”
She added that “Harvard can right these wrongs and restore itself to a campus dedicated to academic excellence and truth-seeking, where all students feel safe on its campus.”
After its contracts were canceled, Columbia agreed March 21 to the administration’s list of nine demands, including banning masks on campus and hiring more security officers, as a precondition for negotiations on restoring federal funds.
The agreement spurred outrage on campus. A few days later, Ms. Armstrong told 75 faculty members on a private Zoom meeting that there would be “no change to masking” and other policies, according to a transcript obtained by The Free Press.
Ms. Armstrong resigned Friday, returning to her role as CEO of the university’s medical center. Board of Trustees co-chair Claire Shipman, a former CNN reporter, was named acting president while the board undertakes a search for a permanent president.
The resignation was the second by a Columbia president in the last nine months. Last August, President Minouche Shafik stepped down amid anti-Israel protest turmoil spurred by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israelis, which prompted Israel to declare war.
The administration’s joint task force, which includes the Department of Health and Human Services and the General Services Administration, said it would evaluate whether to issue “stop work orders” on specific contracts with Harvard.
Harvard was also asked to submit a list of all its contracts, both direct and through its affiliates, not included in the initial review.
“The Task Force will continue its efforts to root out anti-Semitism and to refocus our institutions of higher learning on the core values that undergird a liberal education,” said Sean Keveney, HHS Acting General Counsel and task force member. “We are pleased that Harvard is willing to engage with us on these goals.”
The Washington Times has reached out to Harvard for comment.
