US House committee subpoenas Harvard over tuition costs, World News
The US House Judiciary Committee sent a subpoena to Harvard University on Thursday (June 26) seeking documents and communications for its probe into tuition costs and financial aid for Ivy League students.
A letter to Harvard President Alan Garber, signed by committee chairman Jim Jordan and US Representative Scott Fitzgerald, both Republicans, described Harvard's response to previous requests for documents as inadequate and said the committee needs the documents "to fulfil its oversight and legislative responsibilities".
A spokesperson for Harvard said in a statement: "We are disappointed that the Committee has chosen to issue a subpoena and believe it is unwarranted, unfair and unnecessary."
It added: "There is no basis for an allegation of collusion in Harvard's setting of tuition and financial aid."
The investigation into tuition is part of a larger fight between Harvard and the White House and Congress, including over cuts to federal funding and efforts to block foreign students from attending the university.
President Donald Trump has said he is trying to force change at Harvard — and other top-level universities across the US — because in his view they have been captured by leftist "woke" thought and become bastions of antisemitism.
The subpoena comes as part of an investigation by the Republican-controlled US House Judiciary Committee into whether Harvard and other Ivy League schools broke antitrust laws by raising tuition costs.
"We are concerned that Ivy League member institutions appear to be collectively raising tuition prices while engaging in perfect price discrimination by offering selective financial aid packages to maximise profits," the letter to Harvard's Garber said.
US Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democratic member of the Judiciary Committee, called the investigation "plainly ridiculous" and "based on pathetically weak allegations".
The Harvard spokesperson said the school has produced thousands of pages of documents on its tuition-setting process and financial aid.
While the Judiciary Committee said it had received hundreds of requested documents, it added that some of them contained publicly available facts and lacked specific information that was desired.
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AsiaOne
6 hours ago
- AsiaOne
US House committee subpoenas Harvard over tuition costs, World News
The US House Judiciary Committee sent a subpoena to Harvard University on Thursday (June 26) seeking documents and communications for its probe into tuition costs and financial aid for Ivy League students. A letter to Harvard President Alan Garber, signed by committee chairman Jim Jordan and US Representative Scott Fitzgerald, both Republicans, described Harvard's response to previous requests for documents as inadequate and said the committee needs the documents "to fulfil its oversight and legislative responsibilities". A spokesperson for Harvard said in a statement: "We are disappointed that the Committee has chosen to issue a subpoena and believe it is unwarranted, unfair and unnecessary." It added: "There is no basis for an allegation of collusion in Harvard's setting of tuition and financial aid." The investigation into tuition is part of a larger fight between Harvard and the White House and Congress, including over cuts to federal funding and efforts to block foreign students from attending the university. President Donald Trump has said he is trying to force change at Harvard — and other top-level universities across the US — because in his view they have been captured by leftist "woke" thought and become bastions of antisemitism. The subpoena comes as part of an investigation by the Republican-controlled US House Judiciary Committee into whether Harvard and other Ivy League schools broke antitrust laws by raising tuition costs. "We are concerned that Ivy League member institutions appear to be collectively raising tuition prices while engaging in perfect price discrimination by offering selective financial aid packages to maximise profits," the letter to Harvard's Garber said. US Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democratic member of the Judiciary Committee, called the investigation "plainly ridiculous" and "based on pathetically weak allegations". The Harvard spokesperson said the school has produced thousands of pages of documents on its tuition-setting process and financial aid. While the Judiciary Committee said it had received hundreds of requested documents, it added that some of them contained publicly available facts and lacked specific information that was desired. [[nid:719405]]
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White House wants deep cut in US funding for war crimes investigations, sources say, World News
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The State Department declined to comment. OMB did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The expectation that Rubio would argue for many of the programmes to be continued is slim, according to three US officials. However, the top US diplomat could make a case to keep crucial programmes, such as aiding potential war crimes prosecutions in Ukraine, according to one source familiar with the matter. Several of the programmes earmarked for termination operate war crimes accountability projects in Ukraine, three sources familiar with the matter said, including Global Rights Compliance, which is helping to collect evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity across Ukraine, such as sexual violence and torture. Another is Legal Action Worldwide, a legal aid group which supports local efforts to bring cases against Russian suspects of war crimes in Ukraine, the sources said. Requests seeking comment from the groups were not immediately answered. State Department bureaus that would like to preserve any war crimes and accountability programmes should send their justifications by close of business day on July 11, said an internal State Department email seen by Reuters. Changing priorities Many of the programmes recommended for termination are dedicated to empowering local organisations seeking to advance justice in societies that have faced atrocities, one of the sources said, adding that some programmes have been going on for decades across Democratic and Republican administrations. "Even if Secretary Rubio intervenes to save these programmes, many of which he supported as a senator, there will be no one left to manage these programmes," the source said. The administration of President Donald Trump has frozen and then cut back billions of dollars of foreign aid since taking office on Jan 20 to ensure American-taxpayer money funds programmes that are aligned with his "America First" policies. 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In an internal State Department email, the administration cautioned that any effort to preserve programmes that were recommended to be terminated should be thoroughly argued and directly aligned with Washington's priorities. "Bureaus must clearly and succinctly identify direct alignment to administration priorities," the email, reviewed by Reuters said. [[nid:719500]]
CNA
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US House committee subpoenas Harvard over tuition costs
The US House Judiciary Committee sent a subpoena to Harvard University on Thursday (Jun 26) seeking documents and communications for its probe into tuition costs and financial aid for Ivy League students. A letter to Harvard President Alan Garber, signed by committee chairman Jim Jordan and US Representative Scott Fitzgerald, both Republicans, described Harvard's response to previous requests for documents as inadequate and said the committee needs the documents "to fulfil its oversight and legislative responsibilities". A spokesperson for Harvard said in a statement: "We are disappointed that the Committee has chosen to issue a subpoena and believe it is unwarranted, unfair and unnecessary." It added: "There is no basis for an allegation of collusion in Harvard's setting of tuition and financial aid." The investigation into tuition is part of a larger fight between Harvard and the White House and Congress, including over cuts to federal funding and efforts to block foreign students from attending the university. President Donald Trump has said he is trying to force change at Harvard - and other top-level universities across the US - because in his view they have been captured by leftist "woke" thought and become bastions of antisemitism. The subpoena comes as part of an investigation by the Republican-controlled US House Judiciary Committee into whether Harvard and other Ivy League schools broke antitrust laws by raising tuition costs. "We are concerned that Ivy League member institutions appear to be collectively raising tuition prices while engaging in perfect price discrimination by offering selective financial aid packages to maximise profits," the letter to Harvard's Garber said. US Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democratic member of the Judiciary Committee, called the investigation "plainly ridiculous" and "based on pathetically weak allegations". The Harvard spokesperson said the school has produced thousands of pages of documents on its tuition-setting process and financial aid. While the Judiciary Committee said it had received hundreds of requested documents, it added that some of them contained publicly available facts and lacked specific information that was desired.
