Harvard University filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration after it pulled over $2 billion in federal funding to the Ivy League institution over accusations the school is not doing enough to target antisemitism.
In the 51-page complaint filed in a U.S. district court on Monday, Harvard argued that the Trump administration’s $2.2 billion freeze was unconstitutional and violates the First Amendment by “imposing viewpoint-based conditions on Harvard’s funding.”
“The tradeoff put to Harvard and other universities is clear: Allow the Government to micromanage your academic institution or jeopardize the institution’s ability to pursue medical breakthroughs, scientific discoveries, and innovative solutions,” the university wrote in its lawsuit.
“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,” the lawsuit added.
Harvard has rejected the Trump administration’s demands to make changes in its approach to combating antisemitism after initially acquiescing to some of the administration’s requests.
Earlier this month, Harvard President Alan Garber’s lawyers sent a letter to the White House refusing requests to further crack down on antisemitism due to concerns the federal government’s demands violated the Ivy League institution’s First Amendment rights. In turn, the administration responded by pulling $2.2 billion in multiyear grants to Harvard.
The Trump administration’s targeting of Harvard and other leading U.S. universities comes after pro-Palestinian protests have rocked the institution and other college campuses since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Claudine Gay stepped down as president of Harvard in January 2024 in part over backlash to her response to allegations of antisemitism on campus and her waffling during a congressional hearing over whether calling for the genocide of Jews violated Harvard’s rules on bullying and harassment.
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However, the Trump administration’s approach to targeting universities over their handling of protests has raised eyebrows on both sides of the aisle due to concerns the tactics infringe on free speech rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
“Racism and antisemitism are both evil and must be opposed,” loyal Trump ally Charlie Kirk said earlier this month. “But a government organized around jailing, impoverishing, or silencing people based on ‘racism’ is what our enemies wanted. We should not repeat their mistakes just because some keffiyeh-wearing communists are protesting on campuses.”
“America’s free speech tradition is our birthright. We should never get rid of it,” he continued. “The First Amendment and our strict freedom of speech is one of America’s greatest rights and sets us apart from every other country in the world.”
