NY Republican Stefanik presses SEC to probe Harvard bond sale

Representative Elise Stefanik called on the US Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate Harvard University’s recent bond sale, alleging the school may have withheld material information from investors about its standoff with the federal government.

In a letter to SEC Chair Paul Atkins, the New York Republican questioned whether Harvard may have already decided to reject a White House proposal that could affect its federal funding before the school’s April 9 bond offering — but didn’t disclose that until a supplemental filing days later.

“Such a failure would represent a material omission under federal securities law,” she said. “Investors were asked to analyze risk without knowing the full extent of Harvard’s exposure to reputational and funding related fallout from a conflict with the federal government.” 

Harvard sold $750 million of taxable bonds in April and the bond sale priced on April 9. The university later issued a supplemental disclosure on April 15, revealing that the day before it had rejected the demands of the federal government’s multi-agency task force to combat antisemitism. The university then listed disclosures of risks related to an ongoing conflict with the Trump administration. A lag in disclosure is fairly common in the municipal-bond market.

The SEC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A Harvard spokesperson called the allegations false.

When Harvard made its offering on April 9 it couldn’t foretell the “additional, unlawful conditions outlined outlined in the government’s April 11 letter, much less the government’s freezing of grants and contracts to Harvard on April 14,” spokesperson Sarah Kennedy-O’Reilly said in a statement. “This is why, on April 15, Harvard issued supplemental information to bondholders.”

Stefanik, a Harvard alumna, has played a prominent role in Republican efforts to scrutinize elite universities over their handling of antisemitism on campus. She didn’t provide additional details about how the university may have allegedly withheld material information. 

The Trump administration announced on March 31 it was reviewing Harvard’s compliance with civil rights laws and then sent the university a letter outlining changes it wanted from the university. The demands included eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs and additional oversight for “biased programs that fuel antisemitism.”

Stefanik also asked the SEC to investigate what she described as “risks associated” with the university’s holdings in private equity, venture capital and real estate.