The Trump administration task force on anti-Semitism has launched a review of billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded grants and contracts to Harvard University.
The task force is scrutinizing $8.7 billion in multi-year grant commitments to Harvard and its affiliates, according to an announcement by the Department of Education. The review will also encompass $255.6 million in contracts between Harvard and the federal government.
“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,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a 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.”
“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,” she said.
Harvard President Alan Garber addressed the threat to the university’s federal funding in a Monday note.
“The government has informed us that they are considering this action because they are concerned that the University has not fulfilled its obligations to curb and combat antisemitic harassment,” Garber wrote.
“Urgent action and deep resolve are needed to address this serious problem that is growing across America and around the world. It is present on our campus. I have experienced antisemitism directly, even while serving as president, and I know how damaging it can be to a student who has come to learn and make friends at a college or university,” the president said.
The task force is composed of the departments of Education and Health and Human Services and the U.S. General Services Administration.
The announcement came after the Trump administration has cut off $400 million in taxpayer funding from Columbia University. Last month, Columbia agreed to make a series of changes to their campus speech policies and practices, though it did not secure a return of the rescinded funding.
Last week, Columbia’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, stepped down amid blowback from faculty that the college acceded too much to the Trump administration in the agreement. Claire Shipman, a former CNN correspondent and co-chair of Columbia’s board of trustees, stepped in as interim president.
The Trump administration cut funds to Columbia University after the federal government said the school failed to protect Jewish students amid chaos and unrest on campus over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas students protested, vandalized, and took over buildings on Columbia’s campus.
