In a dramatic escalation of tensions between the US government and one of its most prestigious academic institutions, Harvard University has filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration. Harvard has accused the Trump administration of violating the university’s constitutional rights by freezing $2.2 billion in federal research funding.
The lawsuit, filed in Boston federal court, marks the first formal legal challenge by a university against President Trump’s newly formed antisemitism task force. The task force has already disrupted operations at several universities, including Columbia and Harvard, by suspending or halting massive federal funding packages.
In a statement to the Harvard community, university president Alan Garber condemned what he called “government overreach”, warning that the consequences would be “severe and long-lasting”. Garber said that the funding freeze places at risk critical research projects, including studies into childhood cancer, infectious disease outbreaks and pain management for injured soldiers.
The Trump administration claims the funding freezes are aimed at institutions that failed to adequately protect Jewish students during last year’s pro-Palestinian campus protests. The administration demanded sweeping changes at Harvard, including overhauls in leadership, admissions policy, diversity initiatives and even derecognition of certain student groups.
Harvard refused to comply. “We will not negotiate over our independence or our constitutional rights,” said Garber.
In the 55-page lawsuit, Harvard accused the federal government of cutting off funds “as part of its pressure campaign” to exert control over the university’s academic programs. “The Government has not, and cannot, identify any rational connection between antisemitism concerns and the medical, scientific, technological and other research it has frozen,” the filing reads. “Nor has the Government acknowledged the significant consequences that the indefinite freeze…will have on Harvard’s research programs, the beneficiaries of that research and the national interest.”
The suit argues that the administration is using antisemitism as a “pretext” to undermine academic freedom and tighten political control over higher education.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the White House is planning an additional $1 billion cut to health research funding at Harvard, potentially intensifying the standoff.
While faculty groups at both Harvard and Columbia have already filed lawsuits challenging the task force’s actions, Harvard is now the first institution to formally sue the federal government.