Harvard University has disclosed nearly $4.5 billion in foreign funding, including more than $630 million from Chinese sources, prompting Sen. Tom Cotton to call for closer scrutiny of financial ties between American colleges and entities linked to Communist China.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Harvard University has received more foreign funding than any other American college, according to federal disclosures highlighted as Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., presses the government to investigate the flow of Chinese money into U.S. higher education.
Cotton, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, raised concerns that universities may have failed to report transactions involving sanctioned Chinese organizations and urged federal officials to examine financial relationships between American institutions and Communist China more closely.
“Therefore, I encourage additional scrutiny of financial ties between American universities and Communist China,” Cotton said.
The concerns follow the Trump administration’s overhaul of an online Department of Education portal used to track foreign gifts and contracts reported by federally funded colleges and universities. Data made available through the revamped system showed that Harvard surpassed every other U.S. institution in foreign funding, according to Fox News.
Federal reporting data released since the portal was relaunched in January showed that American universities had accepted more than $6.8 billion from entities in Communist China, including more than $300 million from sanctioned organizations, Cotton said.
“Harvard, for instance, has received more than $630 million from Chinese entities,” Cotton wrote. “This includes roughly $418,000 from organizations participating in foreign talent programs and nearly $420,000 from entities allegedly supporting unauthorized military advancements.”
Harvard’s own disclosures identify nearly $4.5 billion in total foreign funding, with China representing the university’s largest foreign source. The reported Chinese funding exceeds $630 million.
Cotton has also warned that China’s ambitions extend beyond influence within American universities. In a recent statement on X, he said the Chinese Communist Party has long pursued a strategy intended to displace the United States as the world’s leading power.
The issue of foreign money entering American higher education has drawn congressional and public scrutiny for years. A 2019 report cited research by the Clarion Project documenting billions of dollars received by U.S. colleges from foreign governments and other overseas entities, including nations regarded as strategic adversaries.
“The Clarion Project, a watchdog group known for its groundbreaking documentaries on extreme ideologies, compiled a report this month revealing the billions of dollars that colleges and universities in America have taken from foreign entities — including adversarial states,” Breitbart News’s Penny Starr reported at the time.
Federal law requires colleges and universities to disclose certain large foreign transactions. Under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, institutions must report foreign gifts and contracts valued at $250,000 or more.
The Justice Department recently announced a separate compliance review involving Harvard to determine whether financial aid programs connected to China discriminate against U.S. citizens.
The department’s Civil Rights Division said the review would examine whether Harvard’s China-based financial aid policies exclude American students in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on national origin.
“Under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, institutions of higher education, such as Harvard, must self-report gifts and contracts valued at $250,000 or more,” the Justice Department stated. “Harvard’s disclosures indicate that it is the American university receiving the most funding from foreign sources, having disclosed nearly $4.5 billion in foreign funding. Harvard’s disclosures also confirm that its greatest source of foreign funding comes from sources based in China, which account for more than $630 million.”
Cotton’s request for additional scrutiny focuses in part on whether all funding from sanctioned Chinese entities was properly disclosed and whether money connected to foreign talent programs or military-related activities created national security risks.
Chinese foreign talent initiatives have been criticized by U.S. officials over concerns that they can be used to transfer scientific knowledge, intellectual property and advanced research to institutions connected to Beijing. Cotton’s figures also identified nearly $420,000 from organizations accused of supporting unauthorized military advancements.
The questions surrounding Harvard’s funding come amid a broader conflict between the Trump administration and the university over Chinese influence and international enrollment.
In 2025, the Chinese Communist government condemned the United States after the administration ended Harvard’s international student program, which officials said had been abused.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also announced that the State Department would revoke visas held by Chinese students with connections to the Chinese Communist Party.
The latest disclosures place Harvard at the center of the continuing debate over whether foreign money gives adversarial governments access to American research, academic institutions and future policymakers. Cotton is seeking a broader federal investigation to determine whether reporting laws were followed and whether additional safeguards are necessary to prevent Chinese entities from using university funding to advance political, technological or military objectives.
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