Harvard University was thrust into turmoil Wednesday as former U.S. Treasury Secretary and ex-Harvard president Larry Summers abruptly went on leave from teaching and campus leadership roles, bowing to explosive public pressure after newly released emails showed he maintained a disturbingly friendly relationship with Jeffrey Epstein long after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for sex crimes against a minor.
The decision came after days of escalating backlash, cascading resignations, and renewed investigations into Harvard’s long-questioned ties with the disgraced financier. Once a towering figure in American economic policy and academic life, Summers watched his credibility crumble in real time as the scandal deepened—forcing him to cancel public commitments, cut ties with OpenAI, and now withdraw entirely from his teaching duties.
“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,” spokesperson Steven Goldberg said Wednesday evening. His co-teachers will finish the semester’s courses.
Harvard confirmed the move but provided no further comment. Summers was not scheduled to teach next semester.
The bombshell emails—part of the trove released as Congress prepares to unseal federal Epstein files—revealed a relationship between Summers and Epstein that was far more intimate, personal, and ethically troubling than previously known. Among the most damning exchanges: Summers appeared to seek Epstein’s guidance about pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman who saw him as an “economic mentor.”
In one message, Epstein asked Summers in 2018:
“im a pretty good wing man, no?”
Summers replied the next day, emphasizing that he had reached out to the woman, asking whether he should frame his message as gratitude or apology “re my being married,” adding, “I think the former.”
The emails also show Summers’ wife, Elisa New—an English professor emerita at Harvard—corresponding warmly with Epstein and thanking him for facilitating financial support for her poetry project. “It really means a lot to me… that you are rooting for me and thinking about me,” New wrote in 2015.
The revelations triggered an immediate uproar at Harvard, where administrators rushed to reopen a 2020 review that found Epstein had visited campus more than 40 times after his conviction, had been granted his own office, and enjoyed rare access to the university’s research infrastructure. The professor who approved Epstein’s campus privileges was later sanctioned. Summers, however, escaped scrutiny at the time.
Not anymore.
His attempt to continue teaching despite the scandal only intensified criticism. Students recorded his Tuesday lecture in stunned silence as Summers acknowledged his “shame” over the emails yet insisted he would stay in the classroom. By the next evening, that position had collapsed.
Political figures also joined the backlash. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) posted bluntly that Summers “cozied up to the rich and powerful — including a convicted sex offender. He cannot be trusted in positions of influence.”
Dozens of organizations—many long associated with Summers—quickly severed ties. The Center for American Progress, the Center for Global Development, Yale’s Budget Lab, Bloomberg TV, and The New York Times all confirmed they would end collaborations or not renew his contracts.
The timing of this downfall is deeply intertwined with the national political climate. Congress is preparing to release the Justice Department’s Epstein investigative files after a bipartisan revolt forced President Donald Trump to reverse his attempts to block them. Survivors, including Annie Farmer and Rina Oh, have appeared at vigils and news conferences demanding transparency and raising new allegations.
In that broader moment, Summers’ emails landed like a grenade.
Summers—who led the Treasury Department from 1999 to 2001 and served as Harvard’s president from 2001 to 2006—had long been regarded as one of the most influential economic thinkers of his generation. His association with Epstein, however, now threatens to overshadow a decades-long career in public service and academia.
He issued a statement last week expressing “great regrets” and labeling his association with Epstein a “major error in judgment.” But for many, the explanation arrived too late.
Epstein, who authorities say died by suicide in 2019, remains a symbol of elite corruption and unanswered questions. Summers’ downfall only deepens those questions—and brings Harvard, again, under an uncomfortable spotlight.
As the investigation proceeds, one thing is clear: the ripple effects of the Epstein files are just beginning, and the list of powerful figures forced to answer for their past may grow much longer.
