Judge Blocks Trump’s $2B Harvard Grant Freeze
A federal judge has struck down the Trump administration’s freeze on more than $2 billion in federal research funding to Harvard University, calling the move unconstitutional and politically motivated. Judge Allison Burroughs said the administration used antisemitism as a “smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault” on elite universities. While acknowledging that Harvard had mishandled issues of antisemitism, she found “little connection” between those concerns and the grant terminations.
The Trump administration’s freeze followed Harvard’s refusal to comply with a list of demands, including shutting down diversity programs, overhauling hiring and admissions, and restricting foreign students. Only one of the ten demands was directly tied to antisemitism, according to the judge. Burroughs ruled the freeze violated the First Amendment, Title VI, and the Administrative Procedure Act, and ordered that funding be immediately restored.
Harvard President Alan Garber called the ruling a win for “academic freedom, critical scientific research, and the core principles of American higher education.” However, the White House dismissed the decision as “egregious,” claiming Harvard “remains ineligible for grants in the future” and accusing the judge, who was appointed by former President Obama, of bias. The administration plans to appeal.
