Harvard University is suing the Trump administration after it froze $2.2billion of grants when the institution rejected a list of White House demands.
The private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is accused of ideological bias and failing to protect Jewish students from antisemitism during campus protests last year.
The Trump administration has demanded Harvard screen international students for those “hostile to the American values”, as well as terminate all diversity, equality and inclusion programmes.
The university has rejected the reforms and claimed that the administration is trying to “gain control of academic decision-making at Harvard”.
The university has rejected the reforms
Reuters
Its president, Alan M Garber, added that the freeze would hamper critical disease research.
“The government has not - and cannot - identify any rational connection between antisemitism concerns and the medical, scientific, technological, and other research it has frozen that aims to save American lives, foster American success, preserve American security, and maintain America's position as a global leader in innovation,” the court documents of the lawsuit said.
Last week, the White House announced the freeze after Harvard President Alan Garber publicly refused to comply with the administration's requirements regarding antisemitism policies.
"The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights," Garber stated in a letter.
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The university has claimed that the administration is trying to 'gain control of academic decision-making at Harvard'
Reuters
Harvard receives approximately $9bn in total annually from federal funding
Reuters
In response, the Oval Office said that the “gravy train of federal assistance” - which includes $60million in contracts - was coming to an end.
“Taxpayer funds are a privilege, and Harvard fails to meet the basic conditions required to access that privilege,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said.
Garber said that the “consequences of the government's overreach will be severe and long-lasting”, stating that studies on pediatric cancer, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease would be affected.
Harvard receives approximately $9bn annually from federal funding, which is mostly spent on research.
The Trump administration has hinted that another $1bn could be suspended.
Trump has assembled an antisemitism task force within the Government which has been pinpointing universities that allegedly failed to protect Jewish students during protests on campuses
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“In recent weeks, the federal government has launched a broad attack on the critical funding partnerships that make this invaluable research possible,” the university's lawsuit said.
Trump has assembled an antisemitism task force within the Government which has been pinpointing universities that allegedly failed to protect Jewish students during protests on campuses.
However many protesters, including some Jewish groups, say their criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza is being wrongly conflated with antisemitism.
At least 60 universities have been identified for review, with Harvard being the first to file a lawsuit in response to Trump’s crackdown.
Garber, who is Jewish, acknowledged Harvard's campus has had issues with antisemitism but said he had established task forces aimed at the problem.
He said the groups have produced reports into the matter and will publish them shortly.
