Harvard University has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration over what it describes as politically motivated attempts to control its internal policies in exchange for continued access to federal funding.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday, was in response to the administration’s demand for access to all internal reports on antisemitism (anti-jewish) and anti-Muslim bias at Harvard since October 2023, along with new oversight requirements, according to CNN.
The university’s president, Alan M. Garber, in a message to the Harvard community, called the government’s actions “a direct threat to academic freedom and the independence of American institutions of higher learning.”
He said the demands have real consequences for students, researchers, and the global reputation of U.S. higher education.
The Trump administration has frozen more than $2.2bn in research grants and federal contracts, and is threatening to revoke an additional $1bn in health-related funding unless Harvard agrees to a series of demands.
These demands include eliminating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programmes, banning masks at campus protests, implementing merit-based hiring and admissions, and allowing federal oversight of hiring, admissions, and ideological climate on campus.
A letter from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights, ordered Harvard to hand over all internal bias-related reports and the names of contributors to these documents for federal interviews, according to The Free Press.
However, Harvard has refused the demands, arguing that the administration’s actions overstep legal boundaries and exceed its lawful authority.
“This has nothing to do with fighting antisemitism,” Harvard’s lawsuit claims, arguing that the funding freeze unfairly targets critical scientific and medical research.
Garber, who is Jewish, said Harvard admitted valid concerns about antisemitism and Islamophobia but said these concerns are actively being addressed through established campus task forces, insisting that the university will not compromise its constitutional rights.
The administration’s actions follow the public release of a letter on April 11 from the White House’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, which demanded Harvard to submit to extensive federal oversight.
Harvard’s public rejection of the letter’s terms reportedly escalated the conflict.
Other elite institutions including Princeton, Cornell, and Northwestern have faced similar threats and halts in federal funding as the Trump administration intensifies efforts to reshape higher education policies.
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is also reportedly considering revoking Harvard’s tax-exempt status, while the administration has threatened to bar the university from enrolling foreign students, including Israeli veterans currently studying at the school.
Meanwhile, Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League and Harvard Hillel, have voiced concerns that the administration’s response is more about political posturing than genuine concern for Jewish students.
Over 100 Jewish Harvard students signed an open letter condemning the funding cuts, saying they feel like “pawns in a broader political agenda.”
