Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., on Sunday stated that cutting federal funding to Harvard University and other schools "needs to be on the table" due to their handling of alleged campus antisemitism.
Auchincloss, a Harvard alumnus, visited the Ivy League school earlier this month amid ongoing pro-Palestinian protests and suggested that the school's management of antisemitism might breach federal law.
A discussion about Harvard losing federal funding "needs to be on the table," Auchincloss told Fox News' "Fox News Sunday." "Harvard and other universities have unfortunately become ransacked by antisemitism.
"I have seen it in my conversations with Israeli and Jewish students. I have seen the fact pattern," he continued.
"And they need to look at their culture from, first, principles and actually create a culture of open discourse, of free speech, of mutual respect, in which people can pursue truth, in which everybody — regardless of nation of origin, of sex, of race — can have a suitable learning environment."
During the interview, news anchor Shannon Bream referenced a report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) last month, which rated Harvard, Tufts University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and 10 other schools poorly on their antisemitism-prevention policies.
The report evaluated schools based on antisemitic incidents, "Jewish life on campus," and administrative measures taken to combat antisemitism and protect Jewish students.
"Right now," Auchincloss told Bream, "Harvard is failing. And that is why after the ADL reported those failing grades, I sent letters to the eight universities in Massachusetts that got a C or worse and asked them for an action plan by May 17, which they have returned and which we are now reviewing with the ADL, to make sure that over the summer they get their house in order."
Pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses have called for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas conflict and urged universities and the U.S. to cut financial ties with Israel. Most protest groups denied their demonstrations were antisemitic, citing the participation of Jewish students, according to The Hill.