Larry Summers to Leave Harvard Teaching Position Amid Epstein Backlash

Former Harvard President Lawrence (Larry) H. Summers will not continue teaching his ongoing courses at the Ivy League school in an abrupt decision announced on Wednesday, as Harvard investigates his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Why It Matters

Summers faces renewed scrutiny over the investigation of Epstein, whose associations have ensnared numerous influential figures and lawmakers.

Summers has also stepped down from his directorship at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government amid the probe. These developments come as the federal government prepares for a major release of Epstein-related files, raising questions about institutional accountability and transparency within academia and beyond.

On Wednesday night, President Donald Trump announced that he signed the bill to release the Epstein files, after months of calling pressure to pass the bill a “hoax.”

What To Know

In a statement sent to Newsweek via email, a spokesperson for Summers confirmed the move, saying, “Mr. Summers has decided it’s in the best interest of the Center for him to go on leave from his role as Director as Harvard undertakes its review. His co-teachers will complete the remaining three class sessions of the courses he has been teaching with them this semester, and he is not scheduled to teach next semester.”

In an additional email to Newsweek, “A Harvard spokesperson confirmed that Professor Summers had communicated his decision to the University.”

Earlier this week, Summers, ex-U.S. Treasury secretary under former President Bill Clinton, announced he would be “stepping back” from his public commitments. “While continuing to fulfill my teaching obligations, I will be stepping back from public commitments as one part of my broader effort,” Summers said in part in his prior statement.

Two days later, the move to leave his teaching position was announced.

Summers’ departure follows the publication of email exchanges with Epstein, which were released by the House Oversight Committee as part of a large trove of documents tied to congressional probes. The communications showed Summers confided in Epstein over several months, including personal matters unrelated to academia or university business. The public release of these exchanges intensified calls for accountability against those affiliated with Epstein.

Harvard has committed to a broad review, saying in a statement to The Harvard Crimson: “The University is conducting a review of information concerning individuals at Harvard included in the newly released Jeffrey Epstein documents to evaluate what actions may be warranted.”

Meanwhile, Trump has repeatedly labeled efforts to release the files a “Jeffrey Epstein Hoax,” previously claiming Democrats are using the issue to distract from their own performance and that “only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap.” Months earlier, however, the president campaigned on the promise that he was willing to release the files.

What People Are Saying

Trump, on Truth Social Wednesday night, in part: “Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged by the Trump Justice Department in 2019 (Not the Democrats!), was a lifelong Democrat, donated Thousands of Dollars to Democrat Politicians, and was deeply associated with many well-known Democrat figures, such as Bill Clinton (who traveled on his plane 26 times), Larry Summers (who just resigned from many Boards, including Harvard), Sleazebag Political Activist Reid Hoffman, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (who asked Epstein to donate to his Campaign AFTER Epstein was charged), Democrat Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett, and many more.

“Perhaps the truth about these Democrats, and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein, will soon be revealed, because I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES! As everyone knows, I asked Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, to pass this Bill in the House and Senate, respectively. Because of this request, the votes were almost unanimous in favor of passage. At my direction, the Department of Justice has already turned over close to fifty thousand pages of documents to Congress. Do not forget — The Biden Administration did not turn over a SINGLE file or page related to Democrat Epstein, nor did they ever even speak about him.”

Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California, who co-sponsored the Epstein bill, on X Wednesday: “Against all odds, the survivors succeeded. Now that it will be the law of the land, anyone at the DOJ who does not comply is risking future prosecution and contempt of Congress.”