WASHINGTON – In a significant escalation of scrutiny over antisemitism on college campuses, the House Education and the Workforce Committee has served subpoenas to senior leaders at Harvard University. Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) announced the compulsory measures targeting Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow Penny Pritzker, Interim President Dr. Alan Garber, and Harvard Management Company’s Chief Executive Officer N.P. Narvekar. These subpoenas demand the immediate production of priority documents that the committee deems essential for its ongoing investigation into antisemitism at the Ivy League institution.
Chairwoman Foxx expressed her profound disappointment with Harvard’s lack of cooperation, stating, “I am extremely disappointed in the path that Harvard has chosen to take in the Committee’s investigation.” Despite Harvard’s claims of cooperation and submission of thousands of documents, Foxx highlighted that a significant portion – over 40 percent – of the 2,516 pages provided were already in the public domain. She emphasized the committee’s focus on the substance and relevance of the documents, not merely the quantity.
“Quality—not quantity—is the Committee’s concern,” Foxx asserted, underscoring the inadequacy of Harvard’s submissions. She revealed that she had explicitly warned Harvard about the deficiencies in their document production and the impending possibility of subpoenas if the university failed to rectify the situation. According to Chairwoman Foxx, Harvard disregarded this warning, continuing to fall short of the committee’s demands. The latest response from Harvard reportedly lacked substantial information in two out of four priority requests, while the remaining two contained “notable deficiencies, including apparent omissions and questionable redactions.”
Foxx made it clear that the committee’s patience has run out. “Harvard’s continued failure to satisfy the Committee’s requests is unacceptable. I will not tolerate delay and defiance of our investigation while Harvard’s Jewish students continue to endure the firestorm of antisemitism that has engulfed its campus.” She stressed that actions, not mere words, are required to demonstrate a genuine commitment from Harvard to combatting antisemitism. Chairwoman Foxx voiced her hope that these subpoenas will serve as a “wakeup call” to Harvard, signaling that Congress will not condone antisemitic hatred within educational institutions.
In the cover letters accompanying the subpoenas, Chairwoman Foxx detailed the committee’s attempts to accommodate Harvard’s situation. She noted that Harvard had been granted “several accommodations,” including rolling submissions, multiple deadline extensions, and clear identification of priority documents. Despite these concessions, “Harvard has repeatedly failed to satisfy the Committee’s requests within a reasonable timeframe,” Foxx stated. To prevent further delays in the critical investigation, the committee has now moved to compel the production of all responsive documents through these subpoenas.
Background of the Investigation:
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce initiated its investigation into antisemitic incidents at Harvard University on December 20, 2023. Harvard was formally notified of the investigation and provided with a comprehensive list of required documents. On January 9, 2024, Chairwoman Foxx sent a formal letter to Penny Pritzker and Dr. Alan Garber, officially requesting documents and information pertaining to Harvard’s response to campus antisemitism and its efforts to protect Jewish students, faculty, and staff.
However, Harvard’s initial document production on January 23, 2024, was deemed “woefully inadequate” by Chairwoman Foxx. The university provided a mere 24 documents, totaling 1032 pages, a significant portion of which were already publicly accessible materials, including non-profit letters and student handbooks. Furthermore, some of these publicly available documents inexplicably contained redactions in the versions submitted to the committee.
Following this unsatisfactory response, Chairwoman Foxx issued a final warning on February 7, 2024, reaffirming her intention to issue subpoenas if priority documents were not provided by February 14, 2024. With Harvard failing to meet this deadline, the subpoenas were officially served on February 16, 2024. These subpoenas specifically target 11 key areas of documentation crucial to understanding the actions Harvard has taken, or needs to take, to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for Jewish students on campus.
