The US House Judiciary Committee on Thursday issued a subpoena to Harvard University, demanding documents and communications as part of its investigation into tuition pricing and financial aid practices at Ivy League schools. The move marks an escalation in a broader Republican-led scrutiny of elite universities and their financial operations.

In a letter addressed to Harvard President Alan Garber, committee chairman Jim Jordan and Representative Scott Fitzgerald, both Republicans, criticised Harvard’s prior responses as inadequate. They insisted the subpoena was necessary to fulfil the committee’s “oversight and legislative responsibilities.”

“We are concerned that Ivy League member institutions appear to be collectively raising tuition prices while engaging in perfect price discrimination by offering selective financial aid packages to maximize profits,” the letter read.

The subpoena is part of a wider investigation into whether top-tier universities may have violated antitrust laws through tuition hikes and financial aid strategies. The committee has expressed suspicion of collusion among Ivy League institutions in setting tuition levels and allocating aid.

In response, a Harvard spokesperson called the subpoena “unwarranted, unfair and unnecessary,” adding that there is “no basis for an allegation of collusion in Harvard’s setting of tuition and financial aid.” The university claims it has already provided thousands of pages of documents detailing its tuition-setting and aid processes.

The Judiciary Committee acknowledged receiving some documentation, but said much of it consisted of publicly available information and lacked the detailed specifics the committee was seeking.

The tension between Harvard and Republican lawmakers reflects a deeper political rift. US President Donald Trump has accused Harvard and other prestigious institutions of promoting leftist ideologies and fostering antisemitism, asserting that they have become “captured by woke thought.” His administration and Republican allies in Congress have also pushed to cut federal funding to such institutions and limit international student enrollment.

Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, criticised the probe, calling it “plainly ridiculous” and based on “pathetically weak allegations.”

The investigation continues as political and cultural battles over higher education intensify, with Harvard now at the centre of a growing storm over affordability, equity, and ideological influence in elite academia.

Melissa Enoch

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