Harvard University has initiated legal action against US President Donald Trump’s administration in an attempt to stop the government from freezing over $2 billion in funding for the esteemed educational institution.
“In the past week, the federal government has undertaken several actions following Harvard’s refusal to adhere to its unlawful demands,” stated Harvard President Alan Garber.
“We have just filed a lawsuit to stop the funding freeze because it is illegal and exceeds the government’s authority,” Mr. Garber added.
The lawsuit, filed in a Massachusetts federal court, names multiple US government agencies, including the Education Department, the Health Department, the Justice Department, the Energy Department, and the General Services Administration.
This lawsuit follows Mr. Trump’s threat to cut funding to the Ivy League institution while seeking to impose external political oversight.
“This case centers on the government’s attempts to leverage the withholding of federal funds to exert control over academic decision-making at Harvard,” the university stated in its lawsuit.
Last week, Mr. Trump labeled Harvard a “joke” and suggested that the university should forfeit its government research contracts after it rejected demands for outside political oversight.
Harvard has distinguished itself by resisting Mr. Trump’s efforts to compel it to accept extensive government oversight, unlike several other institutions that have capitulated under significant pressure from the White House.
He has insisted that the university modify its operations, including its student selection processes and hiring practices, as well as undergo “audits” of its academic programs and departments.
Mr. Garber has previously emphasized that the institution would not “negotiate its independence or its constitutional rights.”
In justifying their campaign against universities, the US president and his administration have cited what they describe as rampant anti-Semitism and support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
These allegations of anti-Semitism stem from protests against Israel’s conflict in Gaza that erupted on campuses last year.
