Trump administration finds Harvard failed to protect Jewish students, threatens funding cuts
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WASHINGTON — Harvard University failed to protect Jewish students from harassment, the Trump administration concluded after an investigation, threatening to cut all federal funding from the Ivy League school if it fails to take action.
A federal task force sent a letter to Harvard on Monday finding the university violated civil rights laws requiring colleges to protect students from discrimination based on race or national origin. It says investigators found Harvard was at times a “willful participant in anti-Semitic harassment of Jewish students, faculty, and staff” and that campus leaders allowed antisemitism to fester on the campus in Cambridge, Mass.
“Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect Harvard’s relationship with the federal government,” officials said in the letter, which was obtained by the Associated Press and first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Harvard said it strongly disagrees with the government findings and is committed to fighting bias.
Saying UC “may be engaged” in sex and race-based discrimination, the Trump administration has opened up an investigation of the University of California’s hiring practices.
“Antisemitism is a serious problem and no matter the context, it is unacceptable,” the university said in a statement. “Harvard has taken substantive, proactive steps to address the root causes of antisemitism in its community.”
The finding from the administration is the latest intensification in the White House’s battle with Harvard, which lost more than $2.6 billion in federal research grants after rejecting a list of federal demands calling for sweeping changes to campus governance, hiring and admissions.
The Trump administration for months has accused Harvard of tolerating antisemitism on its campus, but a formal finding paves the way for a negotiated agreement or — if one isn’t reached — an attempt to cut the school off from federal dollars.
Much of the investigation’s evidence focuses on campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war. It says the campus was “overrun by an impermissible, multiweek encampment” that left Jewish and Israeli students fearful and disrupted their studies.
It accuses Harvard of imposing lax and inconsistent discipline against students who participated in the encampment, noting that none was suspended.
Harvard President Alan Garber has acknowledged problems with antisemitism and anti-Muslim bias on campus, but he says Harvard has made strides to fight prejudice. He announced new initiatives in April after Harvard released internal reports finding evidence of antisemitism and Islamophobia on campus.
The Trump administration has taken Texas and Kentucky to court over policies that allow undocumented immigrant students to pay in-state tuition.
“Harvard cannot — and will not — abide bigotry,” Garber wrote in releasing the reports.
The Monday letter finds that Harvard violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Such findings have almost always been resolved through voluntary resolutions between schools and the federal government. The Trump administration has taken a much sharper edge than its predecessors, however.
It has been decades since an administration even attempted to strip a school or college of its federal funding over civil rights violations. Trump officials are seeking that outcome in a Justice Department lawsuit against Maine over transgender athletes, and it’s threatening the same action against California.
Trump officials have barraged Harvard with sanctions after it became the first university to defy White House demands addressing accusations of antisemitism and liberal bias. Along with research cuts, the administration has attempted to bar Harvard from hosting foreign students, and President Trump has said the school should lose its tax-exempt status.
Some of the actions have been blocked by courts after Harvard sued, accusing the government of illegal retaliation.
Harvard’s previous funding cuts were carried out under a provision allowing the government to end grants and contracts that no longer align with federal priorities. By finding that Harvard violated civil rights law, the administration could attempt to target a wider pool of money.
In the most extreme scenario, the government could attempt to strip Harvard of its eligibility to participate in federal student aid programs, meaning students would not be able to use federal loans or grants to attend the university.
Trump has railed against Harvard but on June 20 suggested a deal resolving the conflict could be coming soon. In a post on social media, Trump said Harvard has “acted extremely appropriately” during negotiations. He did not elaborate on the terms of a potential resolution.
Binkley writes for the Associated Press.
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