The Trump administration has initiated an investigation into Harvard University and the Harvard Law Review following allegations of racial discrimination in the journal’s article selection process.
The probe comes as President Trump intensifies scrutiny of U.S. universities, accusing them of fostering anti-Semitism, anti-white bias, and promoting “gender ideology” through policies protecting transgender students.
Harvard, which recently sued the administration after losing billions in federal funding for resisting government oversight, is now under review by the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. The agencies cited potential violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination by federally funded institutions.
Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the Education Department, stated that the Harvard Law Review’s selection process “appears to pick winners and losers based on race” and vowed that the administration would not tolerate civil rights violations.
Founded in 1887, the Harvard Law Review is a prestigious, student-run journal that has featured prominent legal scholars, including former President Barack Obama, its first Black president in 1990.
A Harvard Law School spokesperson told AFP that the institution is committed to legal compliance and will review credible allegations, though they noted that the Law Review operates independently and that a similar 2018 claim was dismissed.