The court decided that the Trump administration cannot terminate grants to Harvard.

A federal court in Boston has declared the actions of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to terminate funding for Harvard University illegal. This concerns approximately $2.2 billion allocated in research grants.

Judge Allison Burroughs prohibited the government from suspending or freezing any federal funding for Harvard, blocking payments on already provided grants, or denying new ones. In her decision, she pointed out that the administration violated the law and infringed on the university’s right to free speech, as provided by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Reuters reports that the Trump administration’s arguments were based on claims that Harvard allegedly does not sufficiently combat “harassment of Jewish students” and “allows the spread of radically left ideologies” on its campus. Judge Burroughs characterized the government’s actions as an “ideological attack” on a respected educational institution, disguised as accusations of anti-Semitism.

Harvard went to court, claiming that the authorities were applying repressive measures after the university refused to comply with a demand to review its management and educational programs. White House spokeswoman Liz Gaston stated that the decision would be appealed and called the judge an “Obama-appointed activist.” She added that Harvard does not have a constitutional right to taxpayer funds and is not suitable for receiving grants in the future.

Harvard President Alan Garber emphasized that the court’s decision confirms their position in defending academic freedom and the principles of American higher education. The conflict between the Trump administration and Harvard intensified amid campus protests following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and military actions in Gaza.

The government claimed that the university does not protect Jewish and Israeli students from “unacceptable” behavior by supporters of Palestine. Besides reducing grants, the Trump administration attempted to restrict foreign students’ access to studying at Harvard and questioned the university’s accreditation.

Similar situations are observed in other Ivy League institutions. For example, Columbia University in July 2023 agreed to pay $220 million to the federal budget to restore frozen funding after accusations of tolerance towards anti-Semitism. In contrast, Harvard chose to legally defend its position, stating jointly with the American Association of University Professors that it is intolerable to “trade the rights of the university community for a compromise with the government.”

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