State Department launches new investigation into Harvard

The State Department will investigate Harvard University’s eligibility to sponsor international students and researchers, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday, the latest attempt by the Trump administration to pressure the Ivy League university.

“The American people have the right to expect their universities to uphold national security, comply with the law, and provide safe environments for all students,” Rubio said in a statement. “The investigation will ensure that State Department programs do not run contrary to our nation’s interests.”

The State Department is probing the Exchange Visitor Program at Harvard, which allows the school to bring international students, researchers and faculty to the university for temporary periods. Revoking its status as a sponsor makes it harder for the university to bring these people to its Cambridge, Massachusetts, campus.

Rubio said that to maintain the “privilege” to sponsor exchange visitors, Harvard must act in a manner that does not “compromise” America’s national security interests.

This isn’t the first challenge Harvard has faced during President Donald Trump’s second term. A federal judge in June blocked a Trump effort to prevent international students from enrolling at the university. And Harvard is suing the Trump administration for cutting more than $2 billion in federal grants.

A university spokesperson said in a statement this was "yet another retaliatory step" taken by the Trump administration to violate Harvard's First Amendment rights.

"Harvard continues to enroll and sponsor international scholars, researchers, and students, and will protect its international community and support them as they apply for U.S. visas and travel to campus this fall," the spokesperson said. "The University is committed to continuing to comply with the applicable Exchange Visitor Program regulations.”

The fight with one of America’s most prestigious universities comes as the Trump administration says it wants to crack down on antisemitism at higher education institutions. Trump has accused Harvard of failing to protect its Jewish students — in violation of the Civil Rights Act — amid a greater reckoning on college campuses in the aftermath of pro-Palestinian protests.

“Harvard is an Anti-Semitic, Far Left Institution, as are numerous others, with students being accepted from all over the World that want to rip our Country apart,” he wrote in a Truth Social post in April. “The place is a Liberal mess, allowing a certain group of crazed lunatics to enter and exit the classroom and spew fake ANGER AND HATE.”

Trump suggested in late June that the federal government could reach a deal with Harvard, but that has yet to materialize.

In an April statement, Harvard’s President Alan Garber acknowledged that there are “valid concerns” surrounding rising antisemitism but argued that the Trump administration was attempting to use these concerns as a “justification” for unlawful actions.

“These actions have stark real-life consequences for patients, students, faculty, staff, researchers, and the standing of American higher education in the world,” Garber said.