When Harvard University made headlines for refusing to comply with the Trump administration’s proposed terms for federal grant funding, it explained its decision was based on its “independence” and stressed its commitment to “broaden[ing] the intellectual and viewpoint diversity” at the institution.
While Harvard pays lip service to ideological diversity, the university is overwhelmingly led and managed by individuals who support the Democratic Party. Simultaneously, as it touts independence, the institution relies on wealthy ideological donors to keep many of its programs running.
Over 99% of political contributions larger than $100 made by Harvard administrators, executives, deans, provosts, and others in leadership positions since 2015 went to Democratic candidates or liberal organizations, a Washington Examiner analysis of Federal Election Commission records found. Of the roughly 3,000 political donations the Washington Examiner identified, just over 20 were earmarked for Republicans or conservative committees. These donations only accounted for about $10,000 of the roughly $1.3 million documented in the records.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) were some of the most popular Democratic candidates among Harvard’s administrators and leaders. EMILY’s List, a pro-abortion political committee, and the Democratic National Committee were also popular among the Harvard employees.
Counted among the donors are multiple deans, the university’s chief of staff, executive directors of numerous departments and programs, and a bundle of C-level executives.
A significant portion of the Republican donations made by Harvard administrators and leadership went to candidates who challenged President Donald Trump in primary elections, including Nikki Haley and Bill Weld. Trump himself received less than $500 in contributions from top Harvard employees across the three elections covered by the FEC dataset.
Harvard, in its response to the Trump administration’s demands, specifically took issue with the White House’s efforts to promote ideological diversity and combat alleged antisemitism at the institution, accusing the president of attempting to violate its First Amendment rights.
“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” Harvard President Alan M. Garber wrote. “Freedom of thought and inquiry, along with the government’s longstanding commitment to respect and protect it, has enabled universities to contribute in vital ways to a free society and to healthier, more prosperous lives for people everywhere. All of us share a stake in safeguarding that freedom.”
The Trump administration responded to Harvard’s defiance by freezing over $2 billion in grant funding earmarked for it. The president went on to threaten Harvard’s tax-exempt status in a statement posted to Truth Social on Tuesday.
“Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting ‘Sickness?’” Trump wrote. “Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!”
In addition to the overwhelming support for the Democratic Party by the people running Harvard, the university is also bankrolled by large liberal donors — a group whose influence will only grow if federal dollars dry up.
Philanthropies with links to the Democratic Party pour millions of dollars into Harvard annually. Among them are big names such as anti-Trump billionaire Pierre Omidyar’s Democracy Fund, Arabella Advisor’s dark money network, the Soros family’s Open Society Foundations, the New America Foundation, and Pew Charitable Trusts.
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Many individual liberal philanthropists have also made massive contributions to the university. Bill Gates, who reportedly donated $50 million to support Harris’s 2024 presidential bid, has given tens of millions of dollars to the university. Mike Bloomberg, a Democrat who ran one of the most expensive presidential campaigns in history, likewise has donated tens of millions. Hansjörg Wyss, a Swiss philanthropist who made his fortune manufacturing medical devices and spends millions supporting liberal causes in the United States, had given Harvard $350 million as of 2022.
Generally, gifts from these large-dollar donors fund specific programs at Harvard and don’t simply go to the general treasury. Wyss’ donations, for example, fund the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, which exists to “transform healthcare and the environment by developing innovative technologies that emulate the way Nature builds, and accelerate their translation into commercial products through the formation of startups and corporate partnerships to bring about positive near-term impact in the world.”
Wealthy donors have recently attempted to use their financial contributions as leverage to influence higher education, with many having threatened to cut funding to elite universities following the October 7th terrorist attacks in Israel unless they clamped down on pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
Harvard did not respond to a request for comment.