The Trump administration on Monday referred Harvard to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights to consider if it should be made ineligible for federal funds. File Photo by CJ Gunther/EPA-EFE
Sept. 30 (UPI) — The Department of Health and Human Services has launched a process that could see Harvard University ineligible for federal funding, as the Trump administration escalates its fight with the Ivy League school.
The HHS’ Office for Civil Rights announced Monday it has referred Harvard to its office responsible for suspension and debarment decisions, where officials could decided to make the university ineligible for government contracts.
“OCR’s referral of Harvard for formal administrative proceedings reflects OCR’s commitment to safeguard both taxpayer investments and broader public interest,” Paula Stannard, the OCR director, said in a statement.
Harvard is one of several universities the Trump administration has targeted with punitive measures on allegations of failing to protect Jewish students amid pro-Palestine protests that erupted on campuses during the spring of 2024.
While the White House says the actions are to clamp down on anti-Semitism and protect Jewish students at the schools, critics say it is a tactic to suppress dissent and left-leaning ideology, as the Trump administration has pressured universities to adopt policies that amount to federal interference in hiring, admissions and curriculum.
Several of the schools have reached costly agreements to settle allegations with the administration, but Harvard is the most high-profile institution to fight back.
After the Trump administration froze more than $2 billion in government funding for the school, Harvard sued, with a judge earlier this month blocking the federal government’s attempt to withhold the money.
In support of its decision to refer Harvard to its OCR on Monday, HHS cited a June 30 notice it issued to the school stating it had violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which found it had acted “with deliberate indifference toward discrimination and harassment against Jewish and Israeli students on its campus” amid Israel’s war in Gaza.
It also pointed to the OCR’s July 30 referral of Harvard to the Justice Department.
Harvard has 20 days to notify the OCR whether it will use its right to a formal administrative hearing, where an HHS administrative law judge will make a determination on whether it violated Title VI as alleged.