Washington DC, April 22 (ANI) — Harvard University has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over threats to freeze more than USD 2.2 billion in federal funding. The university accused the administration of attempting to exert “unprecedented and improper control” over its academic decisions, according to The New York Times.
University President Alan M. Garber said the administration’s actions could have “severe and long-lasting” consequences. The legal action follows federal demands for access to all reports related to antisemitism and anti-Muslim bias on Harvard’s campus since October 2023. The Trump administration claims the university has allowed antisemitic rhetoric to go unchecked.
Garber, in his statement, acknowledged concerns about rising antisemitism but emphasized that the federal government must engage through legal channels, not by attempting to dictate “whom we hire and what we teach.” As both a Jew and an American, Garber stated he is deeply aware of the seriousness of the issue.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, argues that the administration’s tactics amount to using funding as leverage to control academic policy at Harvard. It also cites similar pressures placed on other major U.S. universities.
The administration has reportedly demanded that Harvard eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, ban the use of masks at campus protests, implement merit-based hiring and admissions policies, and reduce faculty power—claiming these measures are necessary to counter what it calls “activism over scholarship.”
In addition to the $2.2 billion in general grants and contracts, another $1 billion in federal health research funding may be at risk, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Former President Donald Trump recently criticized Harvard’s hiring practices as “woke” and “Radical Left,” calling the university a “joke” and suggesting it no longer deserves a place among the world’s leading academic institutions.
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