Harvard University sues Trump administration over threats to freeze funding

WASHINGTON: Harvard University has sued the President Donald Trump administration on Monday (local time) over constant threats of freezing funding of more than $2.2 billion, The New York Times reported.

University president Alan M Garber accused Trump’s administration of trying to wield “unprecedented and improper control,” adding that the government’s action would have “severe and long-lasting” consequences.

This development comes after the Trump administration demanded access to all university reports on antisemitism and anti-Muslim bias on campus generated since October 2023, claiming the university has allowed antisemitic language to remain unchecked on their campuses.

As reported by the New York Times, Garber, in his statement, said that “as a Jew and as an American, I know very well that there are valid concerns about rising antisemitism”. He added that the government need to legally engage with the university instead of seeking to control “whom we hire and what we teach.”

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, accuses the government of unleashing a broad attack as “leverage to gain control of academic decision-making at Harvard.” It also references other major universities that have faced abrupt funding cuts, the New York Times reported.

The Trump administration has threatened to freeze more than $2.2 billion in grants and contracts if the university refused to submit to demands, including it eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, ban masks at campus protests, enact merit-based hiring and admissions reforms, and reduce the power of faculty and administrators the White House has said are “more committed to activism than scholarship”.

Another $1 billion in federal health research contracts to Harvard could also be withheld, The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend

Earlier, Donald Trump criticised Harvard University, denouncing its hiring practices as “woke” and “Radical Left”. He went on to call the institution a “joke” and added that the university should not be considered on any list of the “World’s Great Universities or Colleges.” (ANI)