House Dem says cutting federal funding to Harvard ‘needs to be on the table’

Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) said Sunday that cutting federal funding to Harvard University and other schools should be an option “on the table” regarding addressing anti-Semitism on campus.

Auchincloss, a Harvard alumnus, visited the Ivy League earlier this month amid ongoing pro-Palestinian protests and argued that the way schools handle anti-Semitism could violate federal law.

When asked on “Fox News Sunday” whether he believes Harvard should lose federal funding, Auchincloss said, “That needs to be on the table. Harvard and other universities have unfortunately been ransacked by anti-Semitism.”

“I’ve seen this in my conversations with Israeli and Jewish students. I’ve seen the fact pattern. And they need to look at their culture from first principles and really create a culture of open discourse, of freedom of expression, of mutual respect, where people can seek the truth, where everyone, regardless of nation of origin, gender, race, can have an adequate learning environment”, he added.

Bream pointed to an Anti-Defamation League (ADL) report released last month that found that Harvard, Tufts University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and 10 other schools received low marks for their policies preventing anti-Semitism.

The school’s scores in the report were based on anti-Semitic incidents, “Jewish life on campus” and administrative actions taken to combat anti-Semitism and protect Jewish students.

“Right now, Harvard is failing, which is why, after the ADL reported these failing grades, I sent letters to the eight Massachusetts universities that earned a C or worse and asked them for an action plan by May 17, which they have returned and which we are now looking at with the ADL, to ensure that over the summer they get their houses in order,” Auchincloss told Bream.

The Hill has reached out to Harvard for further comment.

Pro-Palestinians who occupied university campuses for weeks called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and for universities and the US to cut ties with Israel. Most protest groups rejected the characterization of their protests as anti-Semitic, pointing to some of the Jewish students who participated in the demonstrations.

Some schools, however, have reported isolated incidents of anti-Semitic rhetoric and Jewish students feeling unsafe on campus.

The House Education and Workforce Committee last week released a report alleging that Harvard failed to take action against anti-Semitism. The report accused Harvard of suppressing the recommendations of its own anti-Semitism task force, which was created after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

It follows months of investigation by the commission following the firing of former president Claudine Gay, who resigned from her post amid backlash over her comments made at a congressional hearing on anti-Semitism.

The House committee repeatedly accused Harvard of ignoring requests for documents and failing to comply with a subpoena lawmakers sent to the school. The school, for its part, says it has produced thousands of documents for the committee and seeks to continue working with them on the issue.

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