Harvard Sues Trump Over Federal Funding Freeze, Cites Threat To Academic Freedom

Harvard sued in Boston federal court to stop Trump from freezing federal funds, arguing his demands threaten academic independence.

Harvard sues to keep the US President Donald Trump from freezing billions of dollars in federal funding.

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Harvard University sued US President Donald Trump in federal court in Boston on Monday to prevent him from freezing billions in federal funding. The university argued that the administration's demands, which Harvard rejected, would compromise its institutional independence.

Harvard is the first university to file a lawsuit in response to Trump's crackdown.

According to Reuters, the lawsuit contends Trump has launched a broad attack on funding for cutting-edge research at major universities as he seeks to rid them of what he describes as antisemitism and ideological bias.

'Gravy Train Of Federal Assistance'

"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 report cites the lawsuit.

Harvard said the Trump administration’s actions were arbitrary, unlawful, and infringed upon the university’s First Amendment right to free speech. In a statement, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said that the “gravy train of federal assistance” to elite institutions like Harvard was being brought to an end. Adding, “Taxpayer funds are a privilege, and Harvard fails to meet the basic conditions required to access that privilege”.

Harvard University rejected several demands from the Trump administration that it would effectively hand over control of the school to a conservative government, as it views the institution as excessively left-leaning.

After which, the Trump administration froze $2.3 billion in funding to Harvard and threatened to strip the university of its tax-exempt status and take away its ability to enrol foreign students. It has also demanded information on the university's foreign ties, funding, students and faculty.

In March, the Trump administration launched a review of $9 billion in federal funding to Harvard, following which it issued a broad set of demands, including a mask ban and an end to all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.

The Trump administration has also suspended portions of federal funding to several universities, including Columbia, Princeton, Cornell, Northwestern, and Brown, because of pro-Palestinian protests.

Responding to Harvard's lawsuit, university president Alan Garber reaffirmed the school's commitment to combating hate and complying with anti-discrimination laws, as per Reuters.

He criticised the administration’s approach, stating that rather than working with Harvard to address antisemitism as required under civil rights law, the government was attempting “to control whom we hire and teach.”