House probe alleges Harvard University has research ties to ‘foreign adversaries’

An article from site logo Dive Brief House probe alleges Harvard University has research ties to ‘foreign adversaries’

The inquiry is part of an onslaught of investigations and financial penalties the  institution is facing after it rebuked the Trump administration’s demands.

Published May 20, 2025 Natalie Schwartz's headshot Natalie Schwartz Senior Editor Students walk through the campus of Harvard University. People cross the Harvard Yard at Harvard University on April 17, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. Sophie Park via Getty Images Listen to the article 4 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Dive Brief: 
  • Two Republican-led House committees on Monday accused Harvard University of having multiple research and training partnerships with “foreign adversaries” and groups accused of human rights violations.
  • The lawmakers alleged that several partnerships “raise serious national security and ethical concerns.” That includes Harvard research the lawmakers say was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and conducted with the help of Chinese universities that have links to the country’s military. 
  • The probe comes from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and the House Committee on Education and Workforce. Three GOP lawmakers on those committees demanded in a Monday letter that Harvard hand over internal documents and communications related to the partnerships by June 2. 
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The new inquiry is part of an onslaught of investigations and financial penalties targeting Harvard after the university publicly rebuked the Trump administration’s demands for it to change its hiring, academic and enrollment practices to maintain access to federal funding.

Over the past couple months, federal agencies have terminated or frozen over $2.6 billion of Harvard’s funding, launched an investigation into the institution’s reporting of foreign gifts and contracts, and reportedly opened a probe into its hiring and promotion practices. 

However, Harvard has been in the crosshairs of prominent Republicans for over a year. 

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., joined Monday’s letter demanding the university turn over internal documents about its research and training partnerships. 

Stefanik has frequently accused high-profile universities of failing to address antisemitism and was one of the leading voices calling for the resignation of Harvard’s previous president. Claudine Gay stepped down from Harvard’s top role in early 2024 amid plagiarism allegations and after a tense exchange with Stefanik during a hearing on campus antisemitism went viral.

After Harvard refused to yield to the Trump administration’s demands this year, Stefanik also described the institution as “the epitome of the moral and academic rot in higher education” and called for it to be defunded. 

Along with accusing Harvard of potentially working on research that could aid China’s military, the lawmakers' letter alleged the university has forged collaborations with researchers funded by the Iranian government.

“Harvard University must be held accountable,” Stefanik said in a statement. “We must ensure that no American institution enables the CCP’s military modernization or the Iranian regime’s technological ambitions — especially under the guise of academic exchange.” 

Additionally, the letter accused Harvard of holding healthcare training events with members of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corp., a paramilitary group that has been sanctioned by the U.S. government and accused in a 2022 report of playing a key role in the mass internment and forced labor of Uyghurs in China. 

Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. 

On top of the lawmaker inquiry, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced on social media Monday it was cutting another $60 million worth of grants to Harvard and claimed the institution has not done enough to address antisemitism or what it described as racial discrimination. 

The university has taken several steps to protect its research amid federal funding cuts. It recently devoted $250 million of its own funding to continue research impacted by the cuts, though top university leaders warned it would not be enough to carry on all the work supported by federal grants without alternative funding sources. 

Harvard President Alan Garber also plans to take a 25% pay cut in fiscal year 2026, a pledge he made after dozens of senior faculty said they would contribute up to 10% of their salaries toward the university’s legal battle against the Trump administration.

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