4.22.25
Harvard University is suing the Trump Administration over its $2.2 billion funding freeze imposed after the Ivy League college defied a list of demands for sweeping changes. The Trump administration has demanded that universities dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, and suppress student protests on campus, in particular related to the war in Gaza.
"The Government has not — and cannot — identify any rational connection between antisemitism concerns and the medical, scientific, technological, and other research it has frozen that aims to save American lives, foster American success, preserve American security, and maintain America's position as a global leader in innovation," Harvard's lawsuit states. "Nor has the Government acknowledged the significant consequences that the indefinite freeze of billions of dollars in federal research funding will have on Harvard's research programs, the beneficiaries of that research, and the national interest in furthering American innovation and progress."
Harvard's lawsuit — filed on Monday at the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts — called Trump's funding freeze "arbitrary and capricious," adding that it violated its First Amendment rights and the statutory provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The White House has also asked the IRS to revoke Harvard's tax exempt status and threatened to bar the university from enrolling international students unless it provides certain student records. The clash is putting serious strain on the traditionally cooperative relationship between the federal government and universities that rely on federal funding to drive scientific research and innovation. Once viewed as a vital investment in the public good, that funding has now become a powerful tool of leverage for the Trump administration.
www.newsweek.com
