Harvard sues Trump administration over fund freeze

Tue, 22 April 2025

08:18

Harvard University has sued the United States President Donald Trump's administration over constant threats of freezing funding of more than USD 2.2 billion.

University President Alan M Garber accused Trump's administration of trying to wield "unprecedented and improper control," adding that the government's action would have "severe and long-lasting" consequences.

Trump has sought to bring several prestigious universities to heel over claims they tolerated campus anti-Semitism, threatening their budgets, tax-exempt status and the enrolment of foreign students, but Harvard has refused to bow.

"This case involves the Government's efforts to use the withholding of federal funding as leverage to gain control of academic decision making at Harvard," the Ivy League university said in a lawsuit filed in a Massachusetts federal court that named several other institutions targeted by Trump.

"The Government's actions flout not just the First Amendment, but also federal laws and regulations," said the complaint, which called Trump's actions "arbitrary and capricious."

Earlier, the Trump administration demanded access to all university reports on antisemitism and anti-Muslim bias on campus generated since October 2023, claiming the university has allowed antisemitic language to remain unchecked on their campuses.

As reported by the New York Times, Garber, in his statement, said that "as a Jew and as an American, I know very well that there are valid concerns about rising antisemitism." He added that the government need to legally engage with the university instead of seeking to control "whom we hire and what we teach."

The Trump administration has threatened to freeze more than $2.2 billion in grants and contracts if the university refused to submit to demands, including it eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, ban masks at campus protests, enact merit-based hiring and admissions reforms, and reduce the power of faculty and administrators the White House has said are "more committed to activism than scholarship."

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