Trump task force to review Harvard's funding after Columbia bows to federal demands

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Harvard symbolizes the American Dream, but has jeopardized its reputation by “promoting divisive ideologies over free inquiry” and failing to protect students from antisemitism.

“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,” McMahon said in a statement.

Harvard President Alan Garber acknowledged that antisemitism exists even on his campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but he said Harvard has done much to fight it.

“For the past fifteen months, we have devoted considerable effort to addressing antisemitism,” Garber said in a statement. “We have strengthened our rules and our approach to disciplining those who violate them.”

Harvard will ensure the government has a full account of the university's work, Garber said. If federal funding is pulled, he added, it will “halt life-saving research and imperil important scientific research and innovation.”

The elite university is among more than 100 colleges and school systems facing investigations for antisemitism or Islamophobia following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel. The Trump administration has promised tougher action than its predecessor, naming antisemitism as the top priority for civil rights investigations.

Monday's announcement didn’t say whether the government had made any specific demands of Harvard. The Education Department, the Health and Human Services Department and the U.S. General Services Administration are leading the review of its contracts and grants.

Those agencies will determine whether orders to halt work should be issued for certain contracts between Harvard and the federal government, the government said. The task force is also ordering Harvard to submit a list of all contracts with the federal government, both directly with the school or through any of its affiliates.

“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, acting general counsel for Health and Human Services. “We are pleased that Harvard is willing to engage with us on these goals.”

Some of the nation's most prestigious colleges have faced extraordinary scrutiny from Republicans in Congress following a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that started at Columbia and spread across the country last year. Presidents of several Ivy League schools were called before Congress over allegations that they allowed antisemitism to fester.

The hearings on Capitol Hill contributed to the resignation of presidents at Harvard, Columbia and Penn. The interim president who took over at Columbia, Katrina Armstrong, resigned last week after the school agreed to the government's demands.

Trump and other officials have accused the protesters of being “pro-Hamas.” Student activists say they oppose Israel's military activity in Gaza.

Instead of going through a lengthy process that allows the Education Department to cut funding from schools that violate civil rights laws, the Trump administration has found quick leverage by pulling contracts and grants. The tactic is being challenged in a federal lawsuit brought by the American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers.

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Holly Ramer contributed reporting from Concord, New Hampshire.

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