What the Hell Is Going On at Harvard?

The Department of Justice sued Harvard University today.

For ten months, Harvard has been stonewalling federal investigators. The DOJ wants admissions data (test scores, internal ratings, demographics) to verify that the university has actually stopped discriminating since the Supreme Court ordered it to do so in 2023.

“Harvard has failed to disclose the data we need to ensure that its admissions are free of discrimination,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said this morning.

Today is just the latest escalation in a war that began eleven months ago, when the Trump administration cut the cord. $2.2 billion in federal grants were frozen in April, and another $450 million was pulled in May. More than 950 individual grants have been terminated. A proposed tax hike on the endowment from 1.4% to 8%. Compliance reviews opened across Harvard College, the Law School, and the Medical School.

And now, a federal lawsuit to force the documents out.

Harvard’s preemptive solution to all of this was to hire Brian Ballard.

That name matters. Ballard Partners is a lobbying firm run by one of Donald Trump’s closest fundraisers. They were retained in January 2025, days before the inauguration. Harvard saw what was coming. And when it arrived, they hit a record-high lobbying spend in a single quarter. For the first time ever, they started lobbying the White House directly.

The ivy-covered institution sitting on $56.9 billion is now spending more than ever to influence the politicians who control its federal funding.

This recent admissions fight is just the tip of the iceberg at Harvard.

The real story isn’t what they might be hiding about who gets in. The real story is the money. Where it comes from. Where it goes. Who benefits. And why, for an institution that receives $686 million annually from taxpayers, are the books so hard to read?

Follow the money at Harvard, and you find $540 million in unreported foreign funding. Executive salaries that take 51 students’ full tuition to cover. A PAC that writes checks to the chairs of the committees overseeing higher education. And a lobbying operation that returns $1,660 in federal grants for every dollar spent.

Today’s lawsuit is the government demanding answers on admissions.

I think it’s more important to follow the money.

The Endowment

$56.9 billion. That’s Harvard’s endowment.

To put that in perspective: it’s larger than the GDP of 100 countries. Bigger than the entire economy of Luxembourg. Managed by Harvard Management Company, which employs over 200 investment professionals to grow this tax-exempt fortune.

• $2.5 million per enrolled student. They could eliminate tuition entirely and fund every student from endowment returns alone. Forever.

• 9.6% return in FY2024. That’s $5.46 billion in gains — more than most universities’ entire endowments combined.

• $2.5 billion is distributed annually to operations. The endowment funds 40% of Harvard’s budget.

Students still pay $82,000 per year. Tuition alone is $60,000.

The endowment grew $5.46 billion last year. Tuition went up anyway.

Here’s the math Harvard doesn’t want you to do: at a conservative 4% annual draw, Harvard could distribute $2.27 billion — and still grow the principal. They could make every undergraduate’s education completely free. They could eliminate loans entirely. Instead, they distributed less than 4.5%, while holding more money than some countries’ sovereign wealth funds.

Meanwhile, taxpayers subsidize this wealth machine. Harvard pays no federal income tax on investment gains. No state property tax on much of its real estate. Tax-exempt status is worth hundreds of millions annually, while students graduate flush with debt (albeit from more affluent families, not as badly as at many other schools).

Lawrence Bacow, Harvard’s President from 2018 to 2023, made $3.08 million. Claudine Gay earned $1.36 million over six months before resigning in disgrace. That’s $227,000 per month. $7,500 per day. For half a year. Yes, the same Lawrence Bacow who had a $285,000 side gig as a director at State Street Corporation, the company that manages Harvard’s endowment. He donated $275,000 to Democratic causes: Biden Victory Fund ($150K), Hillary Clinton ($75K), DCCC ($50K). 100% to Democrats. Gay donated too. All Democrats.

The people running the institution that claims to foster “open inquiry” give exclusively to one party.

Political Donations

Harvard money flows to politicians who sit on committees that oversee Harvard’s funding.

PAC Contributions (2024): $413,336