Harvard University is being investigated by the House Select Committee on China and the House Committee on Education and Workforce for its collaboration with Chinese Communist Party-affiliated groups and researchers funded by Iran.

In a letter to Harvard President Alan Garber, House Republicans raised concerns that the university’s ties to China and Iran may compromise national security and constitute ethics violations.

Recommended Stories

• Harvard loses another $60 million in grants over antisemitism
• House budget ups teacher pay, restores master’s pay, and gives a raise
• DEI courses mandatory at some Louisiana universities for certain degrees: Report

The Ivy League institution faces allegations of training a Chinese paramilitary group heavily involved in China’s alleged genocide of Uyghur Muslims, engaging in research partnerships with Chinese military-linked universities, collaborating with Iranian government-funded researchers, and conducting organ transplant research with the Chinese government, which has been accused of engaging in forced organ harvesting.

“Harvard trained members of a sanctioned Chinese paramilitary group responsible for genocide, and its researchers partnered with Chinese military universities on DoD-funded research and worked with researchers funded by the Iranian regime,” Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) said. “These are not isolated incidents—they represent a disturbing pattern that puts U.S. national security at risk. The Select Committee’s investigation will deliver answers, expose the truth, and hold Harvard accountable to the American people.”

As recently as 2024, Harvard hosted Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, a “primary implementer of the CCP’s genocide against the Uyghurs” for training and conferences. The Treasury Department sanctioned XPCC in 2022, prohibiting “any U.S. persons from contributing or providing any funds, goods, or services” to it. 

Harvard hosted XPCC at least four times since the paramilitary group was sanctioned. 

Harvard researchers also allegedly worked with Chinese researchers on projects funded by Iran, which is prohibited by sanctions imposed in 2018. The House Committees identified at least four cases since 2020, with one as recent as 2024.

The House Committees found that Harvard researchers worked with three institutions publicly linked to China’s military. One of the institutions, Tsinghua University, “conducts defense research for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and has been implicated in cyber-attacks against the United States.”

Meanwhile, Zhejiang University is linked to “economic and cyber espionage,” and Huazhong University also has close ties to China’s defense industry. Harvard worked on projects for artificial intelligence, microelectronics, and quantum science, which could be used to advance the PRC’s military capabilities.

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OPEN FOREIGN FUNDING INVESTIGATION INTO UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

The House investigation comes as Harvard University is facing a crackdown by the Trump administration, which has frozen or canceled $3 billion in funding over how the university is addressing antisemitism on campus.

On Monday, the Department of Health and Human Services canceled another $60 million in funding for the school’s “failure” to address antisemitism.