Judge confronts Trump admin over Harvard funding cuts
Federal Judge Challenges Trump’s Cuts to Harvard Funding
On Monday, Judge Allison Burroughs questioned the Trump administration’s rationale for slashing billions of federal dollars to Harvard University, sparking a fiery rebuttal from the president.
Burroughs demanded the administration’s lawyer explain how withholding grants to Harvard’s diverse research budgets would safeguard students from alleged campus anti‑Semitism.
Trump Fires Back on Truth Social
Trump preemptively launched a post on his Truth Social account blasting Burroughs, an appointee of former Democratic President Barack Obama. He claimed—without evidence—that Burroughs had already decided against his government and vowed to appeal.
Harvard Suits to Restore Frozen Funds
The Ivy League institution sued in April to reinstate more than $2 billion in frozen federal funds. The administration insists its move is legally justified over Harvard’s failure to protect Jewish and Israeli students amid protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.
Impact on Research Programs
The threat to Harvard’s funding stream forced a hiring freeze and paused ambitious research programs, especially in public health and medicine, that experts warned risk American lives.
Harvard argues that the administration is pursuing “unconstitutional retaliation” against it and several other universities targeted by Trump early in his second term.
Summary Judgment Sought by Both Sides
Both parties sought a summary judgment to avoid trial, but it was unclear whether Burroughs would grant one either way.
Judge Presses Administration Lawyer
The judge pressed the lone lawyer representing Trump’s administration to explain how cutting funding to Harvard’s broad spectrum of research related to combatting anti‑Semitism, according to the Harvard Crimson student newspaper.
Trump’s Public Statements
“The Harvard case was just tried in Massachusetts before an Obama‑appointed Judge. She is a TOTAL DISASTER, which I say even before hearing her ruling,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Harvard has $52 billion dollars sitting in the bank, and yet they are anti‑Semitic, anti‑Christian, and anti‑America,” he claimed, pointing to the university’s world‑leading endowment.
Combined Filing with the American Association of University Professors
Both Harvard and the American Association of University Professors brought cases against the Trump administration’s measures, which were combined and heard Monday.
Control of Academic Decision‑Making
Trump has sought to have the case heard in the Court of Federal Claims instead of the federal court in Boston, just miles away from the heart of the university’s Cambridge campus.
“This case involves the government’s efforts to use the withholding of federal funding as leverage to gain control of academic decision‑making at Harvard,” Harvard said in its initial filing.
Harvard at the Forefront of Trump’s Campaign
The Ivy League institution has been at the forefront of Trump’s campaign against top universities after it defied his calls to submit to oversight of its curriculum, staffing, student recruitment and “viewpoint diversity.”
Trump and his allies claim that Harvard and other prestigious universities are unaccountable bastions of liberal, anti‑conservative bias and anti‑Semitism, especially surrounding protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.
Targeting International Student Enrollment
The government has also targeted Harvard’s ability to host international students, an important source of income that accounted for 27 percent of total enrollment in the 2024‑2025 academic year.
A proclamation issued in June declared that the entrance of international students to begin a course at Harvard would be “suspended and limited” for six months and that existing overseas enrollees could have their visas terminated. The move has been halted by a judge.
Subpoenas and Accreditation Threats
The US government earlier this month subpoenaed Harvard University for records linked to students allegedly involved in a wave of pro‑Palestinian student protests that the Trump administration labeled anti‑Semitism. Washington also told a university accrediting body that Harvard’s certification should be revoked after it allegedly failed to protect Jewish students in violation of federal civil rights law.
