Federal research funds totaling over $2 billion were held by Harvard University to be unlawfully frozen by the Trump administration, according to a federal judge’s ruling on Wednesday.
In a lengthy 84-page ruling, Obama appointee U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs admitted that the school “could (and should) have done a better job of dealing with” antisemitism on campus. However, according to Burroughs, there is no correlation between antisemitism and the discontinuation of research grants.
“Based on what we can see in the administrative record, it seems highly likely that the defendants used antisemitism as a pretext to launch an ideologically motivated attack on the top universities in our nation,” Burroughs stated.
The judge found that the actions taken by the Trump administration in their investigation of universities were in violation of several laws, including the First Amendment, the Administrative Procedure Act, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. This federal statute prohibits discrimination based on race and national origin.
The Ivy League institution scored a huge win in its high-profile struggle with the federal government with Wednesday’s verdict. Previous statements made by Harvard President Alan Garber on the university’s decision to suit indicate that the demands to restore its federal funding were irrational, an effort to “control whom we hire and what we teach,” and failed to tackle the issue of antisemitism.
With her decision, Burroughs concurred. “It is clear that the majority of the demands being made by the Defendants regarding the restoration of Harvard’s research funding are directed at issues related to administration, personnel decisions, and admissions policies. These matters are directly related to the Defendants’ power and political beliefs, rather than antisemitism,” the judge stated.
When the White House demanded that Harvard change its admissions and disciplinary rules, the university first resisted, citing free speech concerns as the reason. This sparked Trump’s spat with the institution. In response, the federal government withheld almost $2 billion in funding from the White House.
In addition, the university’s almost $9 billion in grants and contracts are being reviewed by the Trump administration. This inquiry is based on allegations that the university’s treatment of Jewish students violated Title VI, particularly during the nationwide demonstrations of the Israel-Hamas war last year.
Trump stated his intention to revoke Harvard University’s tax-exempt status in early May. Towards the end of the month, he considered shifting $3 billion in federal funding from universities to vocational schools. The government’s attempt to limit the university’s capacity to accept international students in June is still under review in a federal court.
The government “will immediately move to appeal this egregious decision, and we are confident we will ultimately prevail in our efforts to hold Harvard accountable,” stated White House spokesman Liz Huston.
“This activist judge was appointed by Obama and was going to rule in favor of Harvard regardless of the facts,” Huston said, echoing President Trump’s prediction from the day of the hearing. “Harvard University’s failure to prevent harassment and discrimination on campus for years is obvious to any reasonable observer. In the future, Harvard will not be able to get any grants since it does not have a constitutional right to receive government monies.