Harvard sues Trump administration
Alleges funding cuts hurt 'academic independence'
By: Aysha Bagchi
and Kayla Jimenez
USA Today
..... Harvard University sued the trump administration April 21, [2025] alleging it unlawfully threatens the school's "academic independence" and "path-breaking research."
..... And a major organization that combats antisemitism denounced the Trump administration for alleging the university had allowed antisemitism to flourish on campus.
..... The lawsuit comes after the Trump administration announce it was freezing $2.2 billion in funding to the elite school, which resisted demands to ban masks and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
..... "This case involves the Government's efforts to sue the withholding of federal funding as leverage to gain control of academic decisions-making at Harvard," the university said in its lawsuit.
..... The White House and Justice Department didn't immediately respond to request for comment.
.....
The lawsuit, which was field in a Massachusetts federal court, alleges the government violated Harvard;s First Amendment right to free speech by freezing the $2.2 billion in funds and threatening additional cuts. Harvard can't freely make decisions on faculty hiring, academic programs and student admissions as a result of the threats, it said.
..... "in other words, the Government wielded the threat of withholding federal funds in an attempt to coerce Harvard to conform with the Government's preferred mix of viewpoints and ideologies," according to the lawsuit.
.....
In an April 11 [2025] letter to Harvard, Trump administration officials listed a range of demands if the university wanted to avoid funding cuts, including commissioning a government-approved auditor to ensure that every university department, field, and teaching unit is "individually viewpoint diverse."
..... Trump offices also demanded the university stop any preferential hiring or admissions treatment on the basis of race, sex, religion, or nationality. and they said Harvard needed to hire a separate government-approved auditor to look into potential antisemitic harassment amid protest against Israeli military actions in Gaza following Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
..... In an April 21 [2025] statement accompanying the lawsuit, Harvard President Alan M Garber said there are "valid concerns about rising antisemitism" and the university will soon be releasing reports on both anti-Israeli and anti-Palestinian bias.
..... "Harvard takes that wok seriously," he said. However, the administration hadn't engage with the school about how it will continue to fight antisemitism, he added.
..... "Instead, the government's April 11 [2025] demand seeks to control whom we hire and what we teach," Garber said.
.... Rep rots of antisemitism and Islamophobia have increased on college campuses across the nation since October 7, [2023] according to repost from the anti-Defamation League and the Council on American-Islanic relations.
..... "Antisemitism on college campuses is a genuine crisis that demands serious attention, but we are concerned about the extent and scope of the current approach taken by the Administration to Harvard," Jonathan Greenblatt, president and CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, wrote in an open letter April 18. [2025]
..... "Denying federal funds (whether in part of in total) is an extremely serious and rightfully rare punishment that should be used only in the most severe situation with institutions incapable or unwilling to improve," Greenblatt added.
.....
By the anti-Defamaito League's metrics, Greenblatt said Harvard has improved in its efforts to combat antisemitism on campus since 2024.
.....
The Trump administration did not respond to an inquires from USA Today.
..... Multiple federal agencies on April 11 [2025] sent a letter to Harvard University accusing the college of violating federal civil rights law for not doing enough to combat antisemitism during student protests of the Israel-Hamas war. One of the demands calls on the university to change programs with an "egregious record of antisemitism or bias."
..... On April 14, [2025] Harvard University President Alan Garber wrote a letter addressed to the Harvard community titled "The Promise of American Higher Education," he said in the letter that the university told the Trump administration it refused to comply with its directives and would not accept its proposed agreement.
..... According to Garber, the Trump administration violated Harvard's First Amendment rights with its demands and exceeded the statutory limits of the government's authority under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
..... Garber said Harvard has "taken many steps" to address antisemitism on campus and plans to do more.
.....
The Trump administration has sent similar letters to other universities. Harvard is the first university to refuse to comply with the administration's demands.
..... Columbia agreed to comply with the administration's demands after it pulled $400 million in federal funding from the university, citing the school's "continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment o Jewish students," according to the U.S. Education Department and other agencies.
..... The university made progress on the organization's campus antisemitism Report Card since last year [2024] - jumping from an "F" grade to a "C" grade, he noted.
..... "To be clear, this is not a grade that satisfies ADL, more should it satisfy anyone associated with one of the most elite universities in the world," he said. "Nonetheless, it's a step in the right direction."
..... Between 2024 and 2025, Harvard has publicly disclose how antisemitism is included in the school's code of conduct and polices and has an advisory council to address antisemitism, according to the ADL's Campus Antisemitism Report Cards from those years
..... The clash between Harvard and the Trump administration persists.
..... "Harvard will continue to suffer reputation damage and donor repercussions until supporters and the public see credible change," Greenblatt wrote. "However, the fight against antisemitism must be about antisemitism - nothing more, nothing less."
.... Contributing: Savannah Kuchar, USA Today