In a letter to Harvard on April 11, the Trump administration called on universities to carry out extensive government and leadership reforms and change their admission policies. It also calls for the university to audit the diversity of campuses and stop recognizing some student clubs. The government believes that universities allow anti-Semitism to make any elections to Israel’s war in Gaza during campus protests last year.
Harvard President Alan Garber said the university will not meet the requirements. A few hours later, the government freezes billions of dollars in federal funds.
“The government has not- nor can it determine any reasonable link between the anti-Semitism issue and medicine, science, technology and other research, which freezes the goal to save American lives, promote American success, maintain American security, and maintain American status as a global innovation leader,” the lawsuit filed in the Boston Federal Court.
It added: “The government also did not recognize that the indefinite freezing of federal research funding would have significant consequences for Harvard’s research program, the beneficiaries of the study, and the national interest in furthering the innovation and progress of the United States.”
The Harvard University lawsuit claims funds freeze “arbitrary and capricious”, saying it violated its First Amendment rights and the statutory provisions of Chapter 6 of the Civil Rights Act.
Within hours, the White House lashed out.
“Federal aid trains are provided to institutions like Harvard that enrich their high-paying bureaucrats with taxes from struggling American families,” White House spokesman Harrison Fields said in an email Monday. “Taxpayer funding is a privilege that Harvard has failed to meet the basic conditions required to obtain that privilege.”
For the Trump administration, Harvard raised the first major obstacle to forcing universities to impose change, which Republicans say has become a hotbed of liberalism and anti-Semitism. Part of this is targeting research funding, which exacerbates scientific breakthroughs but has become a leverage for the Trump administration.
In a letter earlier this month, the administration told Harvard to impose stricter discipline on protesters and screen international students for those “hostile to American values.”
It also calls on universities to carry out extensive leadership reforms, changes in admissions policy and the end of university accreditation by some student clubs. The government also requires Harvard to review its faculty to ensure a broad perspective in each department and diversify if necessary by acknowledging more students and hiring new teachers.
Harvard said last Monday that this was not complying with the grounds for the First Amendment. The next day, Trump boarded his truth social platform, questioning whether universities should lose their tax-free status, “If politics, ideology and terrorists are constantly pushing for inspiration/support of ‘disease?’”
The lawsuit comes after a lawsuit filed earlier this month by the American Association of University Professors, asking a federal judge to declare it illegal and put aside a pending review and investigation of Harvard funding.
Universities see government demands as a threat to Ivy League schools, and their autonomy over the Supreme Court has approved universities in the United States.
“Today, we represent the values that make American higher education a beacon for the world,” Garber wrote to the Harvard University community on Monday.
He added: “We represent the fact that universities across the country can fulfill and fulfill their legal obligations and best perform their important role in society in the event of improper government invasion.”
One of the alumni Anurima Bhargava encouraged Harvard to take a tougher stance against the government, praising the lawsuit.
“The Trump administration continues to carry out reckless and illegal attacks on Harvard’s power and control, thus cutting billions of dollars in scientific research and innovation funding, improving and saving lives,” she said. “Today, Harvard once again refuses to accept the administration’s dangers and escalating demands.”
The U.S. Board of Education is a nonprofit organization with more than 1,600 member universities, praising Harvard University.
“It has been clear for weeks that the government’s actions have violated due process and the rule of law. We commend Harvard for taking this step and look forward to the court’s clear and clear statement that condemns the destruction of scholarships and science.”
