Harvard sues the Trump administration in escalating confrontation

Source: Washington Post

Updated April 21, 2025 at 5:54 p.m. EDT


Harvard University sued the Trump administration in federal court Monday, the latest move in the escalating feud between the nation’s wealthiest school and the White House.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. district court in Massachusetts against multiple federal agencies, seeks to block the Trump administration from withholding federal funding “as leverage to gain control of academic decision making at Harvard.” Alan M. Garber, the president of Harvard, said in a message to the university community Monday that the Trump administration’s actions are unlawful and beyond the government’s authority.

Although some members of the administration have said their letter of demands sent this month was issued by mistake, Garber said, other statements and actions suggest otherwise: In addition to a freeze of $2.2 billion in federal funding, the government has considered taking steps to freeze an additional $1 billion in grants, initiated numerous investigations of Harvard’s operations, threatened the education of international students, and announced that it is considering a revocation of Harvard’s tax-exempt status.

Garber noted that the government has cited the university’s response to antisemitism as a justification for its actions. “As a Jew and as an American, I know very well that there are valid concerns about rising antisemitism,” he said. And to address those concerns effectively “requires understanding, intention, and vigilance. Harvard takes that work seriously. We will continue to fight hate with the urgency it demands as we fully comply with our obligations under the law. That is not only our legal responsibility. It is our moral imperative.”

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/04/21/harvard-sues-trump-administration-funding-antisemitism/