Harvard sues Trump administration to stop the freeze of more than $2
billion in grants
[April 22, 2025]
By MICHAEL CASEY and JOCELYN GECKER
BOSTON (AP) — Harvard University announced Monday that it has filed suit
to halt a federal freeze on more than $2.2 billion in grants after the
institution said it would defy the Trump administration’s demands to
limit activism on campus.
In an April 11 letter to Harvard, the Trump administration had called
for broad government and leadership reforms at the university and
changes to its admissions policies. It also demanded the university
audit views of diversity on campus and stop recognizing some student
clubs. The administration has argued universities allowed antisemitism
to go unchecked at campus protests last year against Israel’s war in
Gaza.
Harvard President Alan Garber said the university would not bend to the
demands. Hours later, the government froze billions of dollars in
federal funding.
“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,” said the
lawsuit, filed in Boston federal court.
“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,” it added.
Harvard's suit called the funding freeze “arbitrary and capricious,”
saying it violated its First Amendment rights and the statutory
provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
Within hours, the White House lashed back.
“The gravy train of federal assistance to institutions like Harvard,
which enrich their grossly overpaid bureaucrats with tax dollars from
struggling American families is coming to an end," White House spokesman
Harrison Fields said in an email Monday. "Taxpayer funds are a
privilege, and Harvard fails to meet the basic conditions required to
access that privilege.”
For the Trump administration, Harvard presents the first major hurdle in
its attempt to force change at universities that Republicans say have
become hotbeds of liberalism and antisemitism. A part of that is
targeting research funding which has fueled scientific breakthroughs but
has become an easy source of leverage for the Trump administration.
In its letter earlier this month, the administration told Harvard to
impose tougher discipline on protesters and to screen international
students for those who are “hostile to the American values.”
It also called for broad leadership reforms at the university,
admissions policy changes and the end of college recognition for some
student clubs. The government also demanded Harvard audit its faculty
and student body to ensure wide viewpoints in every department and, if
necessary, diversify by admitting additional students and hiring new
faculty.
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Students, faculty and members of the Harvard University community
rally, Thursday, April 17, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo)
Last Monday, Harvard said it would not comply, citing the First
Amendment. The following day, Trump took to his Truth Social
platform, questioning whether the university should lose its
tax-exempt status “if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and
terrorist inspired/supporting ‘Sickness?’”
The lawsuit follows one filed earlier this month by the American
Association of University Professors demanding a federal judge
declare unlawful and put aside a pending review and investigation of
Harvard’s funding.
The university frames the government’s demands as a threat not only
to the Ivy League school but to the autonomy the Supreme Court has
long granted American universities.
“Today, we stand for the values that have made American higher
education a beacon for the world,” Garber wrote Monday to the
Harvard community.
“We stand for the truth that colleges and universities across the
country can embrace and honor their legal obligations and best
fulfill their essential role in society without improper government
intrusion," he added.
Anurima Bhargava, one of the alumni who has encouraged Harvard to
take a tougher stand against the administration, praised the filing
of the lawsuit.
“The Trump administration continues its reckless and unlawful attack
for power and control over Harvard, slashing billions in funding for
scientific research and innovation that improves and saves lives,”
she said. “Today, Harvard once again refused to accede to the
administration’s dangerous and escalating demands.”
The American Council on Education, a nonprofit with more than 1,600
member colleges and universities, applauded Harvard.
“It has been clear for weeks that the administration’s actions
violated due process and the rule of law. We applaud Harvard for
taking this step and look forward to a clear and unambiguous
statement by the court rebuking efforts to undermine scholarship and
science,” said Ted Mitchell, the council's president.
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Gecker reported from San Francisco. Associated Press writer Hallie
Golden in Seattle contributed.
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