A federal judge has ruled that Donald Trump’s administration acted unlawfully when it terminated about $2.2 billion in research grants awarded to Harvard University, handing a major legal victory to the Ivy League institution.
The decision by US District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston on Wednesday prevents the White House from cutting off further research funding to Harvard, which has been at the centre of a fierce political battle over campus antisemitism and alleged left-wing bias in higher education.
The Trump administration had sought to use federal funding as leverage to push through sweeping changes at universities. Columbia University and two other Ivy League schools struck settlements earlier this year, with Columbia agreeing to pay more than $220 million to restore its funding.
Harvard, however, resisted. The administration accused the university of failing to act against antisemitism linked to pro-Palestinian protests following the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. In response, hundreds of research grants were cancelled, international students faced threats to their visas, and the school’s accreditation was called into question.
In August, Trump publicly demanded that Harvard pay at least $500 million as part of a settlement. “They’ve been very bad,” he said during a cabinet meeting, instructing education secretary Linda McMahon not to negotiate.
Harvard president Alan Garber said the administration’s demands went far beyond addressing antisemitism. In April, the university received a letter ordering it to restructure governance, alter hiring and admissions to ensure ideological balance, and abolish certain academic programmes. Garber argued these measures were an attempt to control “the intellectual conditions” of the university, in violation of its free speech rights.
Judge Burroughs, an appointee of Barack Obama, agreed that the administration’s actions were unlawful. In a separate ruling, she had already blocked attempts to prevent Harvard from admitting international students, who make up about a quarter of its student body.
Harvard has insisted it has taken steps to ensure Jewish and Israeli students feel welcome, acknowledging that they suffered “vicious and reprehensible” treatment during campus protests. But it maintained that the administration’s broader campaign amounted to unconstitutional retaliation.
The ruling marks a turning point in the stand-off between the White House and America’s oldest university, though it remains to be seen whether a wider settlement will follow.
