Harvard, White House in Boston federal court over university funding war

UPI

7 days ago

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs will hear oral arguments in Boston from Harvard University and Justice Department attorneys after federal agencies directed by President Donald Trump froze scores of government contracts and grants Harvard totaling $2.4 billion. However, it's unclear when the judge will issue a ruling. Photo by CJ Gunther/EPA
July 21 (UPI) -- Harvard University lawyers will be in a federal court Monday in its ongoing battle with the Trump administration over more than $2 billon in government funding put on hold in spring by the White House.
U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs will hear oral arguments in Boston from Justice Department and Harvard attorneys after federal agencies directed by President Donald Trump froze scores of government contracts and grants Harvard totaling $2.4 billion claimed in court documents in April was a "pressure campaign to force Harvard to submit to the government's control over its academic programs."
The hearing is expected to last one day.
Harvard requested a summary judgment in order to seek a quicker outcome.
It puts at risk more than 950 of Harvard's world-renowned medical, scientific and tech research projects that the university said was "unreasonable and unreasoned" that the White House was weaponizing "as leverage to gain control of academic decision-making at Harvard."
In May, the Education Department stopped diverting grant funds to the university and blocked new grants as the president threatened to end the university's status as a tax-exempt entity.
The Trump administration claimed that the university failed to address rising anti-Semitism on campus in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians.
"Harvard holds the regrettable distinction of being among the most prominent and visible breeding ground for race discrimination," read a letter in part last month to University President Alan Garber from the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism that claimed Harvard was in "violent violation" of the Civil Rights Act over a perceived failure to protect Jewish students.
University officials said the federal government is violating the First Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
In court filings, the administration argued that it is the "policy of the United States under the Trump Administration not to fund institutions that failed to adequately address antisemitism in their programs."
Officials said the university has taken a number of serious steps to root out anti-Semitism that included campus policy updates, expanded training and disciplinary review processes.
Harvard has broad government contracts, including with NASA, Veterans Affairs, the National Institutes of Health, Small Business Administration and the Departments of Commerce and Health and Human Services.
The Education Department announced in March it started a "comprehensive review of federal contracts and grants at Harvard University and its affiliates," in order to reportedly "ensure the university is in compliance with federal regulations, including its civil rights responsibilities."
The next month in April, Harvard then filed a lawsuit against the federal government when it withdrew funding, but offered to reinstate it only if Harvard enforced provisions related to its employment and admissions procedures "as the basis for an agreement in principle that will maintain Harvard's financial relationship with the federal government."
On Monday, a higher education lawyer suggested the case is being watched by other colleges nationwide.
"Across the higher ed landscape, across the entire sector, institutions recognize that what happens in this case will really have a profound impact," Jodie Ferise, an Indiana-based attorney told NPR.
Meanwhile, it's unclear when the judge will issue a ruling. However, legal experts say both sides are likely to appeal the ruling.