Harvard has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for freezing $2.2 billion in federal grants after the prestigious university refused to comply with the government’s demands for reforms in hiring practices, battling antisemitism, and admissions practices.
As Breitbart News reported last week, Harvard said it would not comply with Trump administration demands, arguing that reforms in those areas should not be attached to federal funding. In a letter to the administration, Harvard said it made “changes to its campus use policies” to address antisemitism, asserting that the demands “invade university freedoms long recognized by the Supreme Court.”
“It is unfortunate, then, that your letter disregards Harvard’s efforts and instead presents demands that, in contravention of the First Amendment, invade university freedoms long recognized by the Supreme Court,” the letter said. “The government’s terms also circumvent Harvard’s statutory rights by requiring unsupported and disruptive remedies for alleged harms that the government has not proven through mandatory processes established by Congress and required by law.”
The Trump administration responded by freezing $2.2 billion of Harvard’s $9 billion in federal grant money. The Harvard Crimson, the university’s student-run newspaper, reported:
The Trump administration paused $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contracts to Harvard over its decision earlier today to reject the White House’s demands — a dramatic escalation in its crusade against the University.
The move came just hours after Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 issued a resounding rebuke of the Trump administration’s demands, calling them coercive and beyond federal authority.
The federal antisemitism task force wrote that Garber’s decision was a clear sign that Harvard was refusing to “commit to meaningful change” to address antisemitism on campus.
On Monday, the university filed suit against the administration. Alan M. Garber, Harvard’s president, said in a statement that the government has tried to wield “unprecedented and improper control,” charging that the effects will be “severe and long lasting.”
According to the New York Times, the lawsuit filed in federal court on Monday, accused the Trump administration of launching an unfounded attack as “leverage to gain control of academic decision-making at Harvard,” citing other universities that allegedly had funds cut.
“The lawsuit names as defendants Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health and human services secretary; Linda M. McMahon, the education secretary; Stephen Ehikian, acting administrator of the General Services Administration; Attorney General Pamela J. Bondi; and several other administration officials,” it reported.
“Harvard officials have said the funding freeze will have a significant impact on the T.H. Chan School of Public Health, which receives nearly half of its total budget from federal research grants. The school announced major budget cuts this past week,” it added.
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