HHS Initiates Proceedings to Revoke Harvard's Federal Funding Over Antisemitism Concerns

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has initiated proceedings that could prevent Harvard University from receiving federal grants and contracts. This action follows HHS's June finding that Harvard exhibited "deliberate indifference" toward addressing antisemitism on campus.

HHS's Office for Civil Rights has referred Harvard to the federal suspension and debarment process, which allows the government to designate institutions as not responsible enough to receive federal funding. If implemented, this measure could cut Harvard off from billions of dollars in federal funding across all agencies.

Paula M. Stannard, director of the Office for Civil Rights, stated, "OCR's referral of Harvard for formal administrative proceedings reflects OCR's commitment to safeguard both taxpayer investments and the broader public interest."

HHS has given Harvard 20 days to decide whether it will request a formal hearing before an HHS administrative law judge to review if it violated Title VI in its response to campus antisemitism.

This development comes after a federal judge recently ordered the restoration of $2.7 billion in previously frozen research funding to Harvard.

The debarment process typically begins with a suspension lasting up to one year, during which an institution is barred from federal funding while the government considers permanent exclusion. A full debarment prevents an entity from receiving federal contracts and grants across the government for a set number of years.

HHS noted that this action does not affect a separate ongoing investigation announced in April into accusations of race-based discrimination at the Harvard Law Review, an independent organization at Harvard Law School.