The College Fix

Ivy League institution continues to face criticism from Republican leaders for its response to antisemitism

Harvard University could lose its accreditation and hundreds of millions in taxpayer funding if Donald Trump wins re-election, U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said in a closed meeting, according to The Crimson.

Scalise, (pictured) a Louisiana Republican, made the remark Oct. 1 during a private meeting with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee about antisemitism in the U.S., The Guardian first reported this week.

“Your accreditation is on the line,” Scalise said. “You’re not playing games any more or else you’re not a school any more.”

Higher education institutions must be accredited by a government-approved group in order to receive taxpayer funding, including grants and student financial aid.

Harvard receives approximately $676 million from the federal government each year, according to the student newspaper.

“We’re looking at federal money, the federal grants that go through the science committee, student loans,” Scalise said, according to the report. “You have a lot of jurisdiction as president, with all of these different agencies that are involving billions of dollars, some cases a billion alone going to one school.”

The Ivy League institution currently is under investigation by the House Education Committee regarding its handling of antisemitism and pro-Palestinian protests on campus.

According to The Crimson:

Trump himself has said the accreditation system would be his “secret weapon” against universities, pledging in a March campaign video to fire “radical left” accreditors and replace them with agencies that will remove “all Marxist diversity, equity, and inclusion bureaucrats.” …

According to the Guardian, Scalise specifically listed Harvard for losing accreditation alongside the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University, all of which have been at the center of national attention for their response to campus protests.

Scalise did not, however, distinguish between criticism of Israel and antisemitism in the conversation with AIPAC, a powerful pro-Israel lobbying group that has donated more than $40 million dollars in 2024 election cycle. Instead, Scalise called protests against Israel “unacceptable in America.”

“If you’re a college that is violating the civil rights of your students, we’re taking away your accreditation. We have that ability,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican, also criticized Harvard in a statement to The Crimson, saying administrators should discipline protesters who break laws and campus rules.

“Harvard University has once again refused to condemn and discipline the pro-Hamas mob on campus, instead inviting another school year filled with antisemitism and anti-Israel hate,” Stefanik said.

“Now is not the time for more words but consequential action and enforcement of discipline,” the congresswoman said.

In December, Stefanik also questioned Harvard leaders’ political decisions, noting how the university flew the Ukrainian flag at the start of the country’s conflict with Russia but refused to do the same for Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack, The College Fix reported at the time.

Jewish students also are suing Harvard, alleging it did not take sufficient action to address antisemitic harassment, The Fix reported.

MORE: Harvard ignored own antisemitism taskforce’s advice: House investigation

IMAGE: U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise/Instagram

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