On April 21, Harvard University sued President Donald Trump for threatening to freeze billions of dollars in federal funding. Trump claimed the university tolerated antisemitism, and sought to place the institution under government supervision; meanwhile, Harvard refused to comply.
Amid the war between Israel and Gaza, college students across the US have taken to protesting as a form of expressing their beliefs. Some of the student-led protests at Harvard, however, have been targeted by Trump for promoting antisemitism. While the institution cracked down on the protests in midst of the allegations, the Department of Education still demanded on April 11 that Harvard control its antisemitism by employing additional disciplinary policies, screening processes, and curriculum reviews.
The University rejected these demands on April 14, however, which prompted the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism to revoke $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts from the institution. Additionally, the Trump Administration is halting over 500 of Harvard’s National Institution of Health grants, which totals to more than $1 billion in funds. Harvard University sued President Trump for “withholding federal funding as leverage to gain control of decision-making at Harvard,” according to the University.
“The government’s actions flout not just the First Amendment,” Harvard claimed, “but also federal laws and regulations.”
Harvard wasn’t the only university subject to government intrusion recently. Other institutions, like Columbia University, have been met with similar demands from the Trump Administration on the basis of being too left-wing oriented. On April 22, more than 100 educational institutions banded together under the American Association of Colleges and Universities to issue a joint complaint to President Trump. They condemned his control over their financial funding as a means of coercement, and established their boundaries with the federal government.
“We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight,” the institutions made clear. “However, we must oppose undue government intrusion. We must reject the coercive use of public research funding.”
The Trump Administration has continued to justify their campaign against the universities as a means of controlling antisemitism, and seek to reverse the way college diversity programs tackle the historical oppression of minorities. Karoline Leavitt, spokesperson for President Trump, passed along this assertion to reporters amid the lawsuit.
“[Trump’s] not going to tolerate illegal harassment and violence towards Jewish American students or students of any faith on our campuses across the country,” Leavitt claimed.
“We will be responding to the lawsuit in court.”
