Latest news with #antisemitismtaskforce
The Independent
21-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
The Latest: Harvard heads to court in $2.6B lawsuit against Trump administration
Harvard University is in federal court Monday to make the case that President Donald Trump's administration illegally cut $2.6 billion from the storied college. It's a pivotal moment in the school's battle against the federal government. If U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs decides in the university's favor, the ruling would reverse a series of funding freezes that later became outright cuts as the administration escalated its fight with the nation's oldest and wealthiest university. Such a ruling, if it stands, would revive Harvard's sprawling scientific and medical research operation and hundreds of projects. Harvard's lawsuit accuses the 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. Here's the latest: However, even with the nation's largest endowment at $53 billion, the university has warned it can't absorb the full cost of the federal cuts. Federal agencies say grants can be scrapped if they no longer align with government policies In court filings, Harvard has 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. Hearing begins in Harvard's lawsuit over funding cuts A lawyer for Harvard opened the hearing by saying the Trump administration violated the university's First Amendment rights by cutting more than $2.6 billion in federal funding. Steven Lehotsky said the government conditioned research grants on Harvard, 'ceding control' to the government over what is appropriate for students and faculty to say. US envoy doubles down on support for Syria's government and criticizes Israel's intervention A U.S. envoy doubled down on Washington's support for Syria's new government, saying Monday there is 'no Plan B' to working with it to unite the country still reeling from years of civil war and wracked by new sectarian violence. In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Tom Barrack also criticized Israel's recent intervention in Syria, calling it poorly timed and saying it complicated efforts to stabilize the region. Barrack is ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, with a short-term mandate in Lebanon. He spoke in Beirut following more than a week of clashes in Syria's southern province of Sweida between militias of the Druze religious minority and Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes. Tom Barrack, who is ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria and also has a short-term mandate in Lebanon, told The Associated Press that Israel's intervention in the latest round of conflict in Syria had further complicated matters. (AP Video shot by Fadi Tawil; Production by Abby Sewell) Syrian government forces intervened, ostensibly to restore order, but ended up siding with the Bedouins before withdrawing under a ceasefire agreement with Druze factions. Hundreds have been killed in the fighting, and some government fighters allegedly shot dead Druze civilians and burned and looted homes. Neighboring Israel intervened last week on behalf of the Druze, who are seen as a loyal minority within Israel and often serve in its military. Israel launched dozens of strikes on convoys of government forces in Sweida and struck the Ministry of Defense headquarters in central Damascus. Over the weekend, Barrack announced a ceasefire between Syria and Israel. Syrian government forces have redeployed in Sweida to halt renewed clashes between the Druze and Bedouins, and civilians from both sides were set to be evacuated Monday. ▶ Read more about the U.S. support for Syria's new government Trump threatens to hold up stadium deal if Washington Commanders don't switch back to Redskins Trump is threatening to hold up a new stadium deal for Washington's NFL team if it does not restore its old name of the Redskins, which was considered offensive to Native Americans. Trump also said Sunday that he wants Cleveland's baseball team to revert to its former name, the Indians, saying there was a 'big clamoring for this' as well. The Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians have had their current names since the 2022 seasons, and both have said they have no plans to change them back. Trump said the Washington football team would be 'much more valuable' if it restored its old name. His latest interest in changing the name reflects his broader effort to roll back changes that followed a national debate on cultural sensitivity and racial justice. The Commanders and the District of Columbia government announced a deal earlier this year to build a new home for the football team at the site of the old RFK Stadium, the place the franchise called home for more than three decades. ▶ Read more about Trump's attempt to strongarm the NFL team
Zawya
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Harvard expands lawsuit after Trump cancels $450mln more in grants
BOSTON: Harvard University expanded its lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's moves to cut off billions of dollars in federal funding to the Ivy League school on Tuesday after officials said they are terminating an additional $450 million in grants. Harvard filed the amended complaint in federal court in Boston hours after a federal antisemitism task force announced that eight government agencies were canceling additional grants on top of the $2.2 billion in funding President Donald Trump's administration had already terminated. The task force, which includes representatives from agencies including the U.S. departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Justice, did so after accusing the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based school of failing to confront "pervasive race discrimination and anti-Semitic harassment plaguing its campus." In response, Harvard expanded a lawsuit it first filed on April 22 after the administration froze the initial $2.2 billion to cover those latest research-grant terminations, which came from agencies including the U.S. departments of Defense and Energy as well as the National Science Foundation. The revised complaint also now challenges a decision by the administration announced in a letter from Education Secretary Linda McMahon last week to freeze billions of dollars in future research grants and other aid until the nation's oldest and wealthiest college concedes to the administration's demands. Harvard argues the administration's sweeping demands violate the free speech guarantees of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. It says the massive funding freeze is overly broad and was instituted without following proper procedures. "The Government has not identified - and cannot identify -any rational connection between antisemitism concerns and the medical, scientific, technological, and other research it has frozen or terminated," the lawsuit said. Harvard is asking U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs to declare the administration's actions unlawful and block the grant terminations. She previously scheduled arguments in the case for July 21. Trump has targeted Harvard, citing allegations of antisemitism on campus during pro-Palestinian protests. The protests were sparked by U.S. ally Israel's war in Gaza after the October 2023 attack on Israel by Palestinian Hamas militants. Trump has alleged pro-Palestinian protesters are antisemitic and sympathetic to Hamas. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the government wrongly conflates their criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza with antisemitism and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism. The Trump administration has moved to cancel funding after announcing in late March it was launching a review of about $9 billion in grants and contracts with Harvard. Trump has also threatened to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status. Harvard in its complaint said it is committed to combating antisemitism and has taken steps to ensure its campus is safe and welcoming to Jewish and Israeli students. It said the administration's actions are a threat to academic freedom. Harvard has a $53 billion endowment, the largest of any U.S. university, but the funds are often restricted and used for things like financial aid and scholarships. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Nick Zieminski, Mark Porter and Matthew Lewis)
