Republican lawmakers announce probe into Harvard, demand files on anti-Israel protests

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts — Republicans in the US Congress announce an investigation into Harvard University, accusing it of flouting civil rights law in an escalation of US President Donald Trump’s attacks on elite institutions.

The lawmakers write to the world-renowned education and research establishment demanding documents on its hiring practices, diversity programs, and last year’s pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel campus protests.

The letter — signed by House Oversight Committee chair James Comer and House leadership chair Elise Stefanik — came with Trump seeking unprecedented levels of control over the country’s oldest and wealthiest university.

Comer and Stefanik castigate Harvard President Alan Garber for rejecting demands for supervision by the White House, which has canceled $2.2 billion in funding and threatened further reprisals.

“Harvard is apparently so unable or unwilling to prevent unlawful discrimination that the institution, at your direction, is refusing to enter into a reasonable settlement agreement proposed by federal officials intended to put Harvard back in compliance with the law,” they tell Garber.

“No matter how entitled your behavior, no institution is entitled to violate the law.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.