State Department launches new investigation into Harvard
This isn't the first challenge Harvard has faced during President Donald Trump's second term. A federal judge in June blocked a Trump effort to prevent international students from enrolling at the university. And Harvard is suing the Trump administration for cutting more than $2 billion in federal grants.
The fight with one of America's most prestigious universities comes as the Trump administration says it wants to crack down on antisemitism at higher education institutions. Trump has accused Harvard of failing to protect its Jewish students — in violation of the Civil Rights Act — amid a greater reckoning on college campuses in the aftermath of pro-Palestinian protests.
'Harvard is an Anti-Semitic, Far Left Institution, as are numerous others, with students being accepted from all over the World that want to rip our Country apart,' he wrote in a Truth Social post in April. 'The place is a Liberal mess, allowing a certain group of crazed lunatics to enter and exit the classroom and spew fake ANGER AND HATE.'
Trump suggested in late June that the federal government could reach a deal with Harvard, but that has yet to materialize.
A Harvard spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday's investigation. In an April statement, Harvard's President Alan Garber acknowledged that there are 'valid concerns' surrounding rising antisemitism but argued that the Trump administration was attempting to use these concerns as a 'justification' for unlawful actions.
'These actions have stark real-life consequences for patients, students, faculty, staff, researchers, and the standing of American higher education in the world,' Garber said.
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