House GOP threatens Harvard with 'compulsory measures' after 'inadequate' response to antisemitism probe

The House Education and Workforce Committee is threatening retaliatory action against Harvard University after accusing the Ivy League school of an insufficient response to its antisemitism investigation.

Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., slammed Harvard’s response to the House GOP probe as "unacceptable."

"Upon initial review, Harvard’s production to the Committee in response to its antisemitism investigation is woefully inadequate," Foxx said. "Rather than answering the Committee’s request in a substantive manner, Harvard has chosen to provide letters from nonprofits and student handbooks, many of which are already publicly available."

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House Education and Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx slammed Harvard's response to its antisemitism probe. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"This is unacceptable. Harvard must produce the remaining documents in a timely manner, or risk compulsory measures," she warned.

It is continued fallout from former Harvard President Claudine Gay’s testimony before Congress late last year in which she failed to definitively say that calls for genocide against Jewish students on campus constituted harassment. 

As scrutiny and demands for her resignation swelled from Republicans and pro-Israel groups, it was also revealed that Gay was found to have plagiarized dozens of past academic works.

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Foxx sent a letter formally requesting records from the school earlier this month.

"As you are aware, the Committee on Education and the Workforce (the Committee) is investigating Harvard University’s response to antisemitism and its failure to protect Jewish students. We have grave concerns regarding the inadequacy of Harvard’s response to the antisemitism on its campus," the chairwoman wrote.

"While Dr. Gay has since resigned, Harvard’s institutional failures regarding antisemitism extend well beyond one leader. There is evidence antisemitism has been pervasive at Harvard since well before the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack."

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The committee asked for all documents and communications going back to January 2021 that reference antisemitism, including disciplinary records and Harvard Board of Overseers meeting minutes.

Harvard Yard on a winter evening during finals week on Dec. 13, 2023 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

Harvard responded to Foxx's Wednesday statement, "Harvard is committed to cooperating with the Committee’s inquiry and providing information, including the submission made today, which addresses important questions raised by the Committee."

"We denounce any form of antisemitism in the strongest possible terms and are committed to the safety and well-being of our students. We intend to continue to engage with the Committee in a dialogue to respond to their ongoing requests."

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The December hearing that precipitated Gay’s resignation also drove out University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill, who gave similar answers to Gay when broaching the topic of genocidal calls on campus.

Meanwhile, a group of Jewish students sued Harvard earlier this month, accusing the college of having "become a bastion of rampant anti-Jewish hatred."