The Trump administration announced Monday it was investigating Harvard and the Harvard Law Review due to alleged discriminatory policies.
The Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services launched a Title VI investigation over reports of race-based discrimination in the journal’s operation.
“Harvard Law Review’s article selection process appears to pick winners and losers on the basis of race, employing a spoils system in which the race of the legal scholar is as, if not more, important than the merit of the submission,” Department of Education acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said.
“Title VI’s demands are clear: recipients of federal financial assistance may not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin. No institution—no matter its pedigree, prestige, or wealth—is above the law. The Trump Administration will not allow Harvard, or any other recipients of federal funds, to trample on anyone’s civil rights,” he added.
The investigation is based on reports that one editor at the Harvard Law Review said “a piece should be subject to expedited review because the author was a minority” and another who allegedly said it was concerned most of the individuals who wanted to reply to an article about police reform “are white men.”
The Hill has reached out to Harvard for comment.
The investigation comes as the Trump administration and Harvard are in a legal battle after the federal government pulled $2 billion in funding over the Ivy League school not changing its policies based on the president’s demands. Harvard sued the administration on April 21 over the cuts.