Harvard sues Trump administration over federal fund freeze

Harvard University has filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration, saying that it has violated the institution’s constitutional rights by freezing billions of dollars in federal funding.

In a community message announcement, Harvard President Alan Garber said, “The consequences of the government’s overreach will be severe and long-lasting,” the Wall Street Journal reported. Garber argued that due to the funding cuts, research was at risk, including the work into child cancer, infectious disease outbreaks, and easing of injured soldiers’ pain.

US President Donald Trump and the Harvard University has been engaged in a head-on battle for more than a week, with White House freezing $2.2 billion in grants to the institution.

The funding freeze reportedly came after one of the world’s finest educational institutes defied the government’s demands over campus protests.

‘Antisemitism being used as a weapon’

In its lawsuit, Harvard has argued that the government has cut off funds “as part of its pressure campaign” to force the university “to submit to the government’s control over its academic programs”.

The lawsuit, filed in Boston federal court, read, “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,” a report from The Associated Press cited.

“Nor has the Government acknowledged the significant consequences that the indefinite freeze of billions of dollars in federal research funding will have on Harvard’s research programs, the beneficiaries of that research, and the national interest in furthering American innovation and progress,” it added.

With this, a legal showdown is all set to take place between the US’ most significant university and the president of the country.

A new government task force has shaken up several top universities in America in the recent weeks, pausing or freezing billions of dollars in federal funding and contracts to premier institutions like Columbia, Harvard, prompting chaos in several other schools.

The task force said that it was targeting those schools which have failed to sufficiently protect Jewish students during the pro-Palestinian protests on campuses last year.

Garber and other critics have said that antisemitism is being used as a weapon to give Trump administration more power and control over universities.

Before imposing the federal funding freeze on Harvard, Trump administration had written to the university, calling for broad government and leadership reforms, as well as changes to its admission policies in a move to curb ‘anti-Semitism activities’.

The administration also demanded the Harvard audit views of diversity on campus and stop recognising certain student clubs.

However, the premier institution refused to accept Trump’s deal and said that it would not “negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights”.

Earlier in the day, WSJ also reported that Trump is planning to cut an additional $1 billion in health research funding for Harvard as the row between his administration and top schools continues to be on the rise.

Harvard is the first university to sue the Trump administration over actions by the US president’s antisemitism task force, even though faculty groups at Harvard and Columbia, both have filed lawsuits. They have accused the Trump administration of exploiting civil rights law to weaken academic freedom and free speech.