Harvard sues Trump administration over funding freeze
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The news: Harvard University has sued the Trump administration in federal court in Massachusetts after the government froze more than USD2.2 billion ($3.4 billion) in research funding.
The lawsuit follows Harvard’s rejection of the Trump administration’s demands to overhaul governance, discipline, hiring and admissions policies, audit diversity programs and stop recognising some student clubs.
The administration cited Harvard’s response to antisemitism as justification for the freeze, and has also frozen or reviewed funding to Columbia, Cornell, Northwestern and Princeton.
The context: The lawsuit marks the first legal challenge by a university against actions taken by the Trump administration in its campaign to revamp elite higher education.
Critics say the administration is using antisemitism as a pretext to impose political control over universities.
The freeze triggered immediate stop-work orders on federally funded research into tuberculosis, ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and radiation poisoning, and significantly impacted the TH Chan School of Public Health, which announced major budget cuts.
What they said: Harvard President Alan Garber said the government’s actions are “unlawful and beyond the government’s authority” and accused it of using the freeze “as part of its pressure campaign to force Harvard to submit to the government’s control over its academic programs.”
Harvard said the freeze will have “significant consequences,” and threatens research into child cancer, infectious diseases and easing the pain of wounded soldiers.
Last week, Trump called Harvard “a disgrace,” proposed taxing its USD53 billion endowment as a “political entity” and threatened to eliminate visas for its international students.
The source: Harvard's statement
