Harvard tops nation in foreign cash haul as Cotton demands probe into China funding

FIRST ON FOX: One Ivy League institution has taken in more money from foreign countries, including China, than any other university in the country.

The U.S. Department of Education has, for years, compiled a list of federally funded universities that have taken in funding from abroad. The Trump administration sought to revamp the agency’s online reporting portal, and, in doing so, it has shown that one institution, Harvard University, has scored more foreign funding than any other college in the country.

Harvard is in the crosshairs of Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., for its ties to China and other foreign nations because of the reams of outside cash the university has taken in. And the Senate Republican, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, wants Education Secretary Linda McMahon to open an investigation into China’s cash flow into higher education.

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"I remain concerned that millions in additional transactions with sanctioned Chinese entities may not have been reported," Cotton wrote. "Therefore, I encourage additional scrutiny of financial ties between American universities and Communist China."

Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Cotton noted that since the portal was relaunched in January, reporting data has shown that federally funded universities accepted more than $6.8 billion from "Communist China — including more than $300 million from sanctioned entities."

"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."

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More money from foreign countries flows to Harvard than any other college on the Education Department's list, to the tune of nearly $4.5 billion across 7,089 transactions.

Of that, $634 million is from countries of concern.

Notably, China is not the only country of concern that has sent money to Harvard. A country of concern is one that the federal government designates as engaging in conduct that is detrimental to U.S. national security, foreign policy, or the safety of U.S. citizens. Venezuela and Russia have also both sent money to the university, with $3.3 million and over $750,000, respectively, flowing to the Ivy League institution.

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China’s alleged influence doesn’t stop at Harvard, either.

Broken further down, there are four Chinese entities in the top five funders on U.S. watch lists that have provided a total of about $119 million to universities across the country. That list includes the Beijing Institute of Tech, Air China, Ltd., Huawei Technologies Co., and Ocean University of China.

The Education Department late last year announced that it would be revamping the portal and charged that the Biden administration had neglected the system.

"After years of neglect by the Biden Administration, the new portal will assist our institutions of higher education in fulfilling their statutory responsibilities and enable us to protect our national security by facilitating improved compliance," McMahon said in a statement at the time.

"America’s taxpayer-funded colleges and universities have both a moral and legal obligation to be fully transparent with the U.S. government and the American people about their foreign financial relationships," she continued.