At best, Harvard’s ‘leadership suggests staggering incompetence; at worst it’s deliberate malice disguised as ignorance,’ GSA letter says
The Trump administration aims to terminate its remaining contracts with Harvard University, totaling roughly $100 million, over the Ivy League school’s discriminatory practices and failure to rein in campus anti-Semitism, according to a General Services Administration (GSA) letter that references recent Washington Free Beacon reports.
“Harvard’s ongoing inaction in the face of repeated and severe harassment and targeting of its students has at times grounded day-to-day campus operations to a halt,” the GSA letter, sent Tuesday to federal agencies, read. It notes that these disruptions have “deprived Jewish students of learning and research opportunities to which they are entitled, and profoundly alarmed the general public.”
The letter called racial discrimination and anti-Semitism at Harvard a “deeply troubling pattern.” Of the 30 remaining contracts the federal government holds with the university, GSA recommended the agencies terminate any they deem non-critical, find new vendors for any considered critical, and “seek alternative vendors for future services where you had previously considered Harvard.”
Included on the chopping block is a contract to research health effects from consuming energy drinks. Another contract at risk is for a management and leadership course that Harvard offers. Both were originally awarded for more than $500,000 during the Biden administration.
The move represents the Trump administration’s latest foray in an ongoing battle against Harvard. It’s already frozen around $3.2 billion in grants and contracts with the university and is aiming to prohibit Harvard from enrolling international students.
Tuesday’s GSA letter points to recent examples of racial discrimination and honors awarded to students accused of anti-Semitic attacks as reported by the Free Beacon.
In one example, internal Harvard Law Review documents revealed by the Free Beacon exposed a pattern of pervasive race discrimination in its article selection and editor appointment process. In one instance, an editor labeled an author’s race as a “negative” when recommending his article be dropped. And at least seven internal memos showed editors arguing that an author’s minority status counted in favor of publishing their article.
GSA also noted that a Harvard faculty committee approved the law review’s decision to award a $65,000 fellowship to Ibrahim Bharmal, a law school student who faced criminal charges for assaulting an Israeli classmate. Harvard Divinity School appointed a second student charged in that incident, Elom Tettey-Tamaklo, as class marshal for the upcoming graduation ceremony.
In October 2023, Bharmal and Tettey-Tamaklo were shown shoving and accosting their Israeli classmate in a video first reported by the Free Beacon. The pair was charged with misdemeanor assault months later, in May 2024, but remained in good standing with Harvard. A Boston court ultimately ordered them to perform 80 hours of community service and take an in-person anger management class as part of a pretrial diversion program.
After pointing to those examples, the GSA letter said, “At best this sort of leadership suggests staggering incompetence; at worst it’s deliberate malice disguised as ignorance.” It also accused Harvard of continuing to consider race during its admissions processes despite a Supreme Court ban.
Harvard did not respond to a request for comment.
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