(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration is threatening all of Harvard University‘s federal funding after it said it found the university to be in “violent violation” of the Civil Rights Act, according to a new letter sent to the university that was viewed by ABC News.
The letter, sent to Harvard’s President Alan Garber on Monday, detailed the findings of an investigation into antisemitism on the campus by the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. The letter said the investigation found that Harvard is in violation of Title VI, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin.
In response, Harvard once again condemned the Trump administration’s threats to strip it of federal funds and defended its work to combat alleged antisemitism.
“Harvard is far from indifferent on this issue and strongly disagrees with the government’s findings,” a Harvard spokesperson wrote in a statement to ABC News.
“Harvard has made significant strides to combat bigotry, hate and bias. We are not alone in confronting this challenge and recognize that this work is ongoing. We remain committed to ensuring members of our Jewish and Israeli community are embraced, respected, and can thrive at Harvard,” the statement added.
The federal government’s joint task force to combat antisemitism’s monthslong review into Harvard’s practices and policies has been focused on keeping Jewish students safe on campus, according to Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
According to the letter, the investigation found evidence that Jewish and Israeli students reported assaults and concealed their Jewish identities on campus, as well as found that demonstrations and encampments on the university’s campus were not properly punished.
The letter added that Harvard was found to be “in some cases deliberately indifferent” to and in other cases “a willful participant” in the harassment of Jewish students.
“Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect Harvard’s relationship with the federal government,” the letter said. “Harvard may of course continue to operate free of federal privileges, and perhaps such an opportunity will spur a commitment to excellence that will help Harvard thrive once again.”
McMahon said in a statement Monday on X that she worries Harvard’s “persistent indifference” to combating antisemitism isn’t conducive to a safe environment for all students and applauded the administration’s efforts to root out alleged discrimination.
“The Trump Administration’s work to restore equal enforcement of civil rights on American campuses continues,” McMahon said in the post, which also shared the letter sent to Harvard.
This is the latest in a campaign of targeted moves from the Trump administration against the university. The Trump administration has already frozen more than $2 billion in grants to Harvard, threatened to rescind its tax-exempt status and gone after the university’s ability to enroll foreign students. Earlier this month, Trump said that it was “very possible” that a “deal” with Harvard University would be announced in the coming days, although no such deal seems to have happened.
McMahon has suggested frozen federal funding could be restored through ongoing negotiations between impacted schools and the administration.
“It would be my goal that if universities, colleges and universities, are abiding by the laws of the United States and doing what we are expecting of them that they can expect to have taxpayer-funded programs,” McMahon said during a Bloomberg Fireside Chat earlier this month.
ABC News’ Arthur Jones contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
