Harvard University is suing the Trump administration for threatening to withhold federal funding after the university refused to comply with demands the government outlined in a letter dated April 11, 2025.
On Monday, April 21, Harvard University President Alan Garber announced the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Boston, MA, in a letter published on the university’s website.
In the letter, he said the administration’s demands violate the First Amendment, disregard federal law, and threaten life-saving medical research.
“Moments ago, we filed a lawsuit to halt the funding freeze because it is unlawful and beyond the government’s authority,” Garber wrote. “…Before taking punitive action, the law requires that the federal government engage with us about the ways we are fighting and will continue to fight antisemitism. Instead, the government’s April 11 demands seek to control whom we hire and what we teach.”
On April 14, the Trump administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism had frozen $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in multi-year contracts at Harvard, with plans to withdraw an additional $1 billion in funding for medical research.
Garber said the administration is also considering revoking the university’s 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status — jeopardizing the education of international students.
In February, President Donald Trump released a memo with a two-week deadline that requires schools and universities to no longer consider “racial preferences” in admissions, financial aid, or hiring as part of the administration’s efforts to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within the federal government, AFROTECH™ previously reported.
Additionally, White House Spokesperson Harrison Fields said Trump is “working to Make Higher Education Great Again by ending unchecked antisemitism and ensuring federal taxpayer dollars do not fund Harvard’s support of dangerous racial discrimination or racially motivated violence.”
The university’s lawsuit asserts that the government is unlawfully using federal research funds to control the university’s “academic decision-making” without a clear link to antisemitism concerns, ABC News reported.
“All told, the tradeoff put to Harvard and other universities is clear: Allow the Government to micromanage your academic institution or jeopardize the institution’s ability to pursue medical breakthroughs, scientific discoveries, and innovative solutions,” Harvard’s lawyers wrote, per the outlet.
Garber has made it clear that Harvard “will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights” to the Trump administration, AFROTECH™ previously noted.
The school asked a federal judge to rule the funding freeze unlawful, block it, and prevent the government from freezing funds without following the necessary procedures in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“Today, we stand for the values that have made American higher education a beacon for the world. We stand for the truth that colleges and universities across the country can embrace and honor their legal obligations and best fulfill their essential role in society without improper government intrusion,” Garber said in his letter to the community on Monday.
