
Harvard Is Hoping Court Rules Trump Administration's $2.6b Research Cuts Were Illegal
'This case involves the Government's efforts to use the withholding of federal funding as leverage to gain control of academic decision-making at Harvard,' the university said in its complaint. 'All told, 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.'
A second lawsuit over the cuts, filed by the American Association of University Professors and its Harvard faculty chapter, has been consolidated with the university's. Harvard's lawsuit accuses President Donald Trump's administration of waging a retaliation campaign against the university after it rejected a series of demands in an April 11 letter from a federal antisemitism task force. The letter demanded sweeping changes related to campus protests, academics, and admissions. For example, the letter told Harvard to audit the viewpoints of students and faculty and admit more students or hire new professors if the campus was found to lack diverse points of view. The letter was meant to address government accusations that the university had become a hotbed of liberalism and tolerated anti-Jewish harassment on campus.
Harvard President Alan Garber pledged to fight antisemitism but said no government should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue. The same day Harvard rejected the demands, Trump officials moved to freeze $2.2 billion in research grants. Education Secretary Linda McMahon declared in May that Harvard would no longer be eligible for new grants, and weeks later, the administration began canceling contracts with Harvard. As Harvard fought the funding freeze in court, individual agencies began sending letters announcing that the frozen research grants were being terminated. They cited a clause that allows grants to be scrapped if they no longer align with government policies. Harvard, which has the nation's largest endowment at $53 billion, has moved to self-fund some of its research but warned it can't absorb the full cost of the federal cuts.
In court filings, the school said the government fails to explain how the termination of funding for research to treat cancer, support veterans, and improve national security addresses antisemitism. The Trump administration denies the cuts were made in retaliation, saying the grants were under review even before the April demand letter was sent. It argues the government has wide discretion to cancel contracts for policy reasons. 'It is the policy of the United States under the Trump Administration not to fund institutions that fail to adequately address antisemitism in their programs,' it said in court documents.
The research funding is only one front in Harvard's fight with the federal government. The Trump administration also has sought to prevent the school from hosting foreign students, and Trump has threatened to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status. Finally, last month, the Trump administration formally issued a finding that the school tolerated antisemitism – a step that eventually could jeopardize all of Harvard's federal funding, including federal student loans or grants. The penalty is typically referred to as a 'death sentence.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Jordan's King Abdullah, Trump discuss Gaza and Syria in phone call
AMMAN: Jordan's King Abdullah II spoke on the phone on Saturday with US President Donald Trump to discuss regional developments, with a particular focus on the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the situation in Syria, the Jordan News Agency reported. According to a statement from the Royal Court, the king stressed the urgent need to end the war on Gaza and ensure the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid across the Gaza Strip to ease what he described as a 'tragic and alarming' humanitarian crisis. King Abdullah also commended US efforts, and President Trump personally, for working to de-escalate tensions across the region. He reaffirmed Jordan's commitment to working closely with the US and other international partners to achieve a just and lasting peace that ensures the security and stability of the entire region. On Syria, the king highlighted the effectiveness of Jordanian-US coordination in helping to de-escalate the situation there, underlining the importance of safeguarding Syria's stability and territorial integrity. The leaders also discussed ways to deepen the strategic partnership between Jordan and the US and explore opportunities for enhanced economic cooperation.


Asharq Al-Awsat
3 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Hamas Rejects Trump Remarks on Gaza Talks Breakdown
Hamas officials expressed surprise on Saturday at US President Donald Trump's accusation that the group "didn't really want" a ceasefire and hostage release deal for Gaza. Trump made the allegation of Friday a day after Israel and the United States quit indirect negotiations with Hamas in Qatar that had lasted nearly three weeks. "Trump's remarks are particularly surprising, especially as they come at a time when progress had been made on some of the negotiation files," Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP. "So far, we have not been informed of any issues regarding the files under discussion in the indirect ceasefire negotiations", he added Nunu, who is close to Hamas's most senior political officials, said he was "surprised" that Israel and the United States had left the talks. Announcing the recall of US mediators on Thursday, Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff accused Hamas of not "acting in good faith". Though not part of the Hamas negotiating team, Hamas politburo member Izzat al-Rishq insisted the group had shown "flexibility" in the talks. "The American statements deliberately ignore the real obstructionist to all agreements, Netanyahu's government, which continues to put obstacles, deceive and evade commitments," he said. Both Hamas officials called on the United States to be more even-handed in its role as mediator in the quest for a ceasefire after more than 21 months of fighting. "We call for an end to the US bias in favour of Netanyahu, who is obstructing any agreement", Nunu said.


Leaders
3 hours ago
- Leaders
China Calls for New Global AI Body amid Fierce Competition with US
China has called for the establishment of a new organization to promote global cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI), reported Reuters. The move is widely seen as an attempt by China to position itself as an alternative to the US as the two countries feverishly compete for dominance in this pivotal technology. Coordinating Global Efforts During the annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China's Premier, Li Qiang, said that Beijing wants to contribute to coordinating international efforts to regulate the fast-evolving AI technology and share the Chinese advances in that critical field. Li added that Beijing advocates for open AI access, promoting equal rights for its use by all nations and businesses. He added that China is ready to share its expertise and products with other countries, especially the Global South – a term that refers to developing, emerging or lower-income countries, mostly in the southern hemisphere. The state-sponsored WAIC conference attracts leading companies, government officials, researchers and investors. This year's edition has seen the participation of more than 800 companies, displaying 3,000 high-tech products, 40 large language models, 50 AI-powered devices and 60 intelligent robots. AI Regulation The Chinese Premier pointed to the challenge of regulating AI's growing risks, which included an insufficient supply of AI chips and restrictions on talent exchange, highlighting the importance of global consensus. 'Overall global AI governance is still fragmented. Countries have great differences particularly in terms of areas such as regulatory concepts, institutional rules,' he said. 'We should strengthen coordination to form a global AI governance framework that has broad consensus as soon as possible,' Li added. Global Governance During the conference, China's Vice Foreign Minister, Ma Zhaoxu, said that Beijing wanted the proposed organization to foster pragmatic cooperation in AI. The organization's headquarters would likely be in Shanghai, Ma told a roundtable of representatives from over 30 countries, including Russia, South Africa, Qatar, South Korea and Germany. Moreover, the Chinese Foreign Ministry unveiled an action plan for global AI governance, calling on governments, international organizations, enterprises and research institutions to collaborate and foster international exchanges including through a cross-border open-source community. US-China Competition The Shanghai conference took place amid a heated technological competition between the US and China, with the AI at the center stage. On Wednesday, the US President, Donald Trump, revealed an AI action plan aimed at loosening restrictions on the development and deployment of artificial intelligence. It aims to expand American AI exports to allies, in an attempt to maintain the American edge over China in this critical technology. Without explicitly mentioning Washington, Li appeared to refer to the US' efforts to hamper China's advances in AI, warning that the technology risked becoming the 'exclusive game' of a few countries and companies. The US has banned advanced technology exports to China, including the most high-end AI chips made by companies such as Nvidia, and chipmaking equipment, citing concerns that the technology could boost China's military capabilities. However, these measures failed to curb China's advancements as Beijing has continued making AI breakthroughs. AI Race As the AI is poised to be the most transformative technology of the 21st century, it has become the key battleground in the technological competition between Washington and Beijing. Although the US is still dominating in the production of top AI models, China is closing the gap, according to Stanford's 2025 AI Index Report, issued in April. While the US leads in AI models quantity, China has rapidly shrunk the quality gap to near parity across major benchmarks in 2024. Furthermore, Beijing maintains its leadership in AI publications and patents, the report noted. 'The race is tighter than ever, and no one has a clear lead,' the Stanford report authors concluded. Short link : Post Views: 152