The federal government is reviewing nearly $9 billion in contracts and grants awarded to Harvard University, citing concerns over how the institution has responded to antisemitism on campus. The Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and the General Services Administration announced the review on Monday, examining $8.7 billion in grants and more than $255 million in contracts linked to Harvard and its affiliates.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon criticized Harvard’s approach, arguing that the university has failed to protect students from antisemitic discrimination while fostering “divisive ideologies” over open inquiry. “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 said.
Harvard President Alan Garber pushed back against the scrutiny, warning that the potential loss of funding could have far-reaching consequences. “If the funding were revoked, it would halt life-saving research and imperil important scientific research and innovation,” he said. He also emphasized the university’s ongoing efforts to combat antisemitism, noting that Harvard has been addressing the issue for the past 15 months but acknowledged that more work remains.
“We will engage with members of the federal government’s task force to combat antisemitism to ensure that they have a full account of the work we have done and the actions we will take going forward,” Garber stated.
The investigation is part of a broader federal effort to address antisemitism in higher education, following campus incidents linked to the Israel-Hamas war. Meanwhile, Columbia University recently made policy changes after the Trump administration revoked $400 million in funding due to campus protests. Federal officials described Columbia’s response as a “positive first step” but indicated further action was needed.
Harvard is also dealing with internal controversy after the dismissal of two leaders from its Center for Middle Eastern Studies. A university dean removed the officials over concerns about a “lack of balance” in programming related to Palestine, a move criticized by the American Association of University Professors’ Harvard chapter.
Despite ongoing scrutiny, the Anti-Defamation League recently upgraded Harvard’s antisemitism report card from an F to a C, acknowledging some progress in addressing discrimination on campus.
