Harvard University sues Trump administration over funding freeze

Lawsuit accuses government of engaging in campaign to 'punish Harvard for protecting its constitutional rights'

The business school campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Reuters

Harvard University announced on Monday that it is suing President Donald Trump's administration to stop a freeze on billions of dollars in funding.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court, accuses the Trump administration of an unconstitutional campaign to “punish Harvard for protecting its constitutional rights", according to the university's newspaper, The Crimson.

The Trump administration withheld funding from Harvard, Columbia and other universities in response to their tolerance of pro-Palestinian demonstrations, in what it has described as a failure to control anti-Semitism on campus.

“The trade-off put to Harvard and other universities is clear: allow the government to micro-manage your academic institution or jeopardise the institution’s ability to pursue medical breakthroughs, scientific discoveries and innovative solutions,” Harvard’s lawyers wrote in the Monday filing.

Harvard last week rejected demands for control of its student body, faculty and curriculum, saying that would give up control of the university to government.

Within hours of Harvard taking its stand, the administration announced it was freezing $2.3 billion in federal funding and the next day threatened to strip the university of its tax-exempt status. The Wall Street Journal reported that the administration planned to strip another $1 billion in funding from the university.

In a letter sent by the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights to Harvard, which the university released to the public, the Trump administration made demands including that the agency be sent any reports written by the university’s anti-Semitism task force, any drafts of those reports, and the names of anyone involved in “preparing and editing the report".

"Over the course of the past week, the federal government has taken several actions following Harvard’s refusal to comply with its illegal demands," university president Alan Garber said in a statement. "Moments ago, we filed a lawsuit to halt the funding freeze because it is unlawful and beyond the government's authority."

He said research at risk by the funding cuts includes work into childhood cancer, infectious disease outbreaks and easing the pain of soldiers wounded in battle.

"The consequences of the government’s overreach will be severe and long-lasting,” Mr Garber said.

The Trump administration's decision to cut funding to Harvard follows $400 million cuts to Columbia University in New York over accusations that the institutions tolerated anti-Semitism on campus.

Columbia ultimately agreed to a list of demands, including banning face masks on campus, empowering security officers to remove or arrest people, and taking control of the department that offers courses on the Middle East from its faculty, in a bid to restore funding.