The Trump administration is investigating Harvard University, accusing the institution of collaborating with the Chinese Communist Party, according to a 14-page letter sent Monday.
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party is requesting a series of information about Harvard’s activities that “create risks to U.S. national security and further the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) genocide in Xinjiang.”
The federal government, in turn, is threatening Harvard’s tax-exempt status if it were to be found that it was working with China-based entities. President Donald Trump has already threatened this.
The letter was signed by John Moolenaar, chairman of the U.S. House Select Committee on Strategic Competition; Tim Walberg, chairman of the U.S. Committee on Education and Workforce; and Elise Stefanik, chairwoman of the House Republican Conference.
A Harvard spokesperson confirmed the receipt of the letter and said it plans to respond but declined to provide a comment.
Harvard has until June 2, 2025, to respond to the letter.
Read more: Trump admin cuts another $60 million in grants from Harvard University
The Congressional bodies are accusing Harvard of, and requesting information on:
Harvard hosted and trained members of the Chinese Communist Party Harvard researchers collaborated with China-based academics on research funded by an agent of the Iranian governmentHarvard researchers used funding from the Department of Defense to partner with China-based academics on research with potential military applicationsHarvard researchers partnered with China-based individuals linked to China’s defense academic and industrial base on research that could advance China’s military modernizationFurther information regarding the safeguards Harvard places around research collaborations related to organ transplantation when research is conducted with People’s Republic of China-based researchers
“No American university or college should be assisting the CCP in expanding its influence, oppressing American citizens, or undermining U.S. national security,” said Chairman Walberg. “Unfortunately, we have found several instances in which Harvard University aided and even collaborated with the CCP – including helping Chinese researchers on military projects funded by the Iranian government. This is unacceptable and President Garber needs to provide answers to Congress for this colossal failure.”
The letter said the list raises serious concerns about whether the institution has been protecting taxpayer-funded research and U.S. national security.
The letter comes after a series of federal actions related to Harvard and its involvement with foreign students and sources. The Trump administration threatened to revoke the institution’s ability to host international students and demanded the institution disclose foreign investments.
There has also been a wave of federal research grant terminations at Harvard University which took shape on Wednesday, in addition to a $60 million in multi-year grants, $450 million cut and a $2.2 billion freeze.
U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon has also told the institution that the federal government would be barring Harvard University from acquiring new federal grants while the university continues to refuse to comply with the administration’s demands for change on its campus.
President Alan Garber wrote in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon that they share the same “common ground,” but the university “will not surrender its core, legally-protected principles out of fear.”
Garber pushed back on the administration through a lawsuit in April. The institution argues that its constitutional rights had been violated by the government‘s threats to pull billions of dollars in funding if the school didn’t comply with demands for an overhaul.
Following the $450 million announced cuts, the university amended its lawsuit.
“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” the suit reads.
Due to the federal cuts, Harvard announced that it was committing $250 million of “central funding” to support research impacted by suspended and canceled federal grants.
