A conservative think tank filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education on Wednesday seeking a court order forcing the department to produce documents related to the agency's enforcement of Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, which requires universities to disclose donations by foreign entities.

The lawsuit, filed by the Defense of Freedom Institute, accuses the department of failing to comply with two Freedom of Information Act requests that sought documents detailing how the agency is enforcing Section 117. The organization alleges that the department has failed to enforce the statute.

HERE’S HOW TRUMP’S 2024 GOP RIVALS CAN GET UNDER HIS SKIN

"Since 2021, the Department has refused to enforce Section 117 disclosure and transparency requirements against colleges and universities," the lawsuit says. "In part, DFI’s FOIA requests are calculated to demonstrate the Department’s failure to ensure that institutions of higher education comply with Section 117. The Department’s refusal to provide a full, comprehensive production of records — indeed, any records — pursuant to DFI’s FOIA requests underscores the apparent abandonment of Section 117 enforcement by the Department."

The lawsuit comes as congressional investigators, led by the House Oversight Committee, have demanded answers about Chinese donations to the University of Pennsylvania, which hosts the Penn Biden Center. The Washington, D.C., office is where attorneys for Biden initially found a batch of documents on Nov. 2, which helped ignite a special counsel investigation into the president's handling of classified materials.

In a press release announcing the lawsuit, the think tank said the Department of Education stopped enforcement of Section 117 shortly after the Biden administration took office and noted that the University of Pennsylvania received a 400% increase in foreign donations after establishing the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement.

"The Biden administration thinks it’s above scrutiny,” Bob Eitel, the president and co-founder of the Defense of Freedom Institute, said in a statement. "The public has a legal right to know who’s influencing the administration on higher education issues that, frankly, have national security implications. DFI has demanded answers for nearly 18 months to no avail. This lawsuit is a critical next step for DFI’s oversight work, which seeks to shine a light on the role played by foreign interests and self-interested lobbyists in the administration’s education policy-making.”

In 2020, under the Trump administration and Secretary Betsy DeVos, the Department of Education released a comprehensive report that detailed U.S. universities had failed to disclose $6.5 billion in foreign gifts. The department also unveiled an online portal that allows universities to report foreign gifts.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Last year, the American Council on Education thanked Department of Education officials in a letter for closing all investigations previously opened by the Trump administration and for promising to "address the concerns and issues with the existing reporting portal."

The Washington Examiner contacted the White House and the Department of Education for comment.