The Trump administration has initiated investigations into Harvard University and the Harvard Law Review, following allegations that the prestigious journal prioritized race over merit when selecting articles for publication. This move intensifies an ongoing conflict between Harvard and the administration over demands for the university to reform its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and to enhance ideological screenings for international students.

Tensions between Harvard and the federal government escalated recently when the administration froze $2.2 billion in grants to the university, citing concerns over antisemitism and other campus issues. In response, Harvard filed a lawsuit against the administration last week, challenging the legality of the grant freeze and further deepening the standoff.

On Monday, both the Department of Education’s and the Department of Health and Human Services’ civil rights offices announced that they would probe the Harvard Law Review’s membership and article selection practices. According to a joint statement, the investigations stem from evidence suggesting that Harvard’s processes may have violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits racial discrimination by recipients of federal financial aid.

The departments noted they would assess Harvard’s connections to the Law Review, reviewing financial ties, oversight systems, and selection procedures for both journal membership and article publication. The announcement came shortly after a report from The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative outlet, alleged systemic racial discrimination within the Law Review based on internal documents spanning over four years.

The Free Beacon’s report claimed that a little more than half of the Law Review’s members were selected strictly on academic merit, while the remainder were admitted through a "holistic review committee" prioritizing underrepresented groups, including racial and gender identity minorities, following a 2021 resolution. It also alleged that racial considerations heavily influenced the acceptance or rejection of articles at almost every step of the process.

The article highlighted instances where editors at the Harvard Law Review expressed concern over the racial demographics of those reviewing certain articles. One editor was quoted lamenting that most respondents to an article on police reform were white men, while another suggested prioritizing a submission for review because the author was a minority. These examples were cited by the federal departments in their statement announcing the investigation.

Craig Trainor, the acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the Department of Education, emphasized that the evidence points to an article selection system where race plays as much, if not more, of a role than scholarly merit. He stated that the administration would enforce Title VI rigorously, ensuring that no institution, regardless of prestige or wealth, could sidestep federal civil rights laws.

Ultimately, the Trump administration made it clear that it would not tolerate racial discrimination by any federally funded institution. As the investigation moves forward, the pressure on Harvard intensifies, potentially plunging the university into even deeper turmoil amid its broader clash with federal authorities.