The Trump administration said Monday it reviewed the federal grants and contracts awarded to Harvard, about $9 billion in federal grants and contracts, accusing the school of allowing it to remain unchecked on campus.
In a statement Monday, the administration said it is investigating an additional $8.7 billion in a contract worth around $256 million and what is described as a “multi-year grant commitment.”
“Harvard's recent actions to curb institutionalized anti-Semitism have been delayed for a long time and welcome, but there's more that universities have to do to maintain the privilege of receiving federal taxpayers' hard-earned dollars,” said Josh Gruenbaum, a senior general services management official.
“This administration has proven that if anti-Semitism allows fester, the agency will take prompt action to keep it accountable,” he added. “If Harvard doesn't do that, we won't hesitate to act.”
Harvard President Alan M. Gerber could not immediately comment. However, he previously highlighted the importance of federal funding for university businesses.
“We were unable to carry out our mission in the way we do now without substantial support of federal research, nor could we provide benefits to the country we do now without that support,” Dr. Gerber said in a December interview with Harvard Crimson in the Campus Newspaper.
The threatened lawsuit against Harvard was released on March 7th, following a decision to cut approximately $400 million in funding to Columbia. Desperate to resume funding, Colombia agreed to comply with the prerequisites requested by the administration two weeks later. This is a step towards getting your money back.
In February, Harvard was on the list of 10 universities, including Columbia, under scrutiny by the anti-Semitism task force formed by the Trump administration.
This is a developing story. Please check for updates.
