The House Committee on Surveillance and Government Reform is looking into how Harvard University uses taxpayer money as schools face investigations into civil rights issues like anti-Semitism.
Committee chair James Kommer and House Republican leader Ellis Stefanik sent a letter to university president Dr. Alan M. Gerber on Thursday afternoon after the Trump administration suspended $2.2 billion in funding for schools. The Department of Homeland Security has also scrapped the $2.7 million grant, and the IRS is weighing the end of the university’s tax-free status.
The goal is ultimately to determine whether the law is necessary to ensure that higher education institutions with federal financial support will no longer be able to violate the law while still profiting attractively from the generosity of the American people.
John Yu says Harvard doesn’t have “rights to federal grants” in his fight against Trump’s administrators
Drone View shows anti-Israel protesters voluntarily stuffing camps into Harvard University’s gardens in Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 14, 2024 (Reuters/Brian Snyder/TPX image of the day)
The committee is calling for “documents and communications” to investigate the issue.
“On April 11, 2025, officials from the Office of General Services, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Department of Education wrote a settlement agreement that proposed a settlement agreement that would restore Harvard to compliance with the Civil Rights Act,” the letter states.
“Instead of working with the government, you continued to write to the Harvard community that an effort to comply with basic civil rights law obligations would “waive independence or waive constitutional rights.”
“While Harvard University appears to be preparing to refuse all federal financial support so that it can avoid compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Harvard has received a large sum of money from foreign sources, including from authoritarian governments,” the letter added.
Harvard will not comply with Trump administrators’ requests amid the threat of cutting federal funds
Rep. James Commer, R-Ken. , Chairman of the House of Representatives Oversight and Accountability Committee (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images) during a hearing in Washington, DC, July 22, 2024.
Regarding the possibility that the federal government will end the university’s tax-free status, the university told Fox News Thursday that there is “no legal basis” to do so.
“The government has long exempted universities to support education missions. Tax exemptions mean that any dollar can go towards scholarships for students, life savings, and scholarships to promote medical research and economic growth that enhance livelihoods,” the spokesman said.
President Donald Trump is a critic of Harvard’s voice, saying his employment “almost everything has woken up.”
Trump administrators will suspend $790 million from the Northwest and $1 billion from Cornell in civil rights investigation: Report
The Trump administration has announced it will freeze more than $2 billion in grants and contracts after Harvard University said it would not comply with federal demands on anti-Semitism. (Reuters/Nicolas pfosi)
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“Harvard is a joke, teaches hatred and stupidity and should no longer receive federal funds,” Trump recently posted.
Anti-Semitism on American university campuses has become a major focus after anti-Israel protests scored a breakpoint in the aftermath of the Hamas attack on October 7th.
Harvard said it is reviewing letters about surveillance investigations.
“Harvard University is reviewing its committee’s investigation, which presents the status of foc digration foc and foc and foces and foces and foces and foc-exempers, such as the announcement of a $2.2 billion grant and a $60 million contract freeze freeze, scrutiny of foreign student visas, and the revocation of Harvard’s 501(c)(3) tax-free status.
“Harvard continues to adhere to the law, and we have made great strides in fighting anti-Semitism on campus, strengthening our policies, disciplining those who violate our policies, encouraging and respectful dialogues that encourage citizen discourse.
“However, compliance with federal requirements that have little to do with the fight against anti-Semitism undermines our rights under the First Amendment, hinders legitimate processes under Title VI, and erodes academic freedom. Such requests include changing Harvard’s governance structure, “reducing the power held by students,” and adopting external audits in response to these requests.
Cameron Arcand is a political writer for Fox News Digital at Washington DC.
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