Harvard announces it will not accept CARES Act funds after pressure from Donald Trump and other Republicans
The university asked the Trump administration to give the $8.6 million it had been allocated to other Massachusetts colleges that were "struggling" in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak.
Harvard University announced Wednesday that it will no longer accept the coronavirus relief funds it was allocated through the recently passed CARES Act, following pressure from Republican politicians, including President Donald Trump.
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In a statement Wednesday afternoon, the university said that, despite the “significant financial challenges” the institution will face due to the pandemic, it was “concerned” that “the intense focus by politicians and others on Harvard in connection with this program may undermine participation in a relief effort that Congress created and the President signed into law for the purpose of helping students and institutions whose financial challenges in the coming months may be most severe.”
“As a result of this, and the evolving guidance being issued around use of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, Harvard has decided not to seek or accept the funds allocated to it by statute,” school officials said.
2/5 We are concerned that intense focus by politicians & others on Harvard in connection with the program may undermine participation in a relief effort Congress created & the president signed into law for the purpose of helping those whose financial challenges may be most severe
— Harvard University (@Harvard) April 22, 2020
Harvard had been allocated $8.6 million from the $14 billion Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund — which was separate from a much larger fund to help small businesses — included in the $2.2 billion CARES Act. The allotment was by no means the largest sum received by hard-hit colleges from the law; others — particularly large state schools — received far more aid through the funding formula.
However, Harvard faced calls from several prominent national Republicans to return the money, given the unparalleled size of their endowment, which surpassed $40 billion last year (though the vast majority of their endowment funds are legally restricted). During a press briefing Tuesday night, Trump said that the Ivy League school was “going to pay back the money,” which has not yet been disbursed.
“They have one of the largest endowments anywhere in the country, maybe in the world, I guess, and they’re going to pay back that money,” the president said.
Harvard initially resisted the pressure, arguing that Trump and others were conflating the aid to colleges with the separate small business relief program. School officials also announced earlier this week that 100 percent of their $8.6 million allotment would go directly toward financial assistance for students who have been affected by the coronavirus (the law only requires colleges to reserve half of the relief money for students, while the rest can cover institutional costs).
However, the university seemingly caved to the pressure Wednesday — and asked the Trump administration to reallocate its funds to other Massachusetts institutions that were “struggling” in the midst of the pandemic. Even before the coronavirus outbreak, many smaller colleges in the region have been grappling with worsening financial challenges due to larger demographic trends.
“While we understand any reallocation of these resources is a matter for the Department of Education, we hope that special consideration will be given to Massachusetts institutions that are struggling to serve their communities and meet the needs of their students through these difficult and challenging times,” Harvard said in its statement.
The university added that it “remains fully committed to providing the financial support that it has promised to its students.”
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