On Monday, Harvard sued the Trump administration in response to threats to cut billions of dollars in research funding, writes The New York Times. The lawsuit marked a significant escalation in the battle between higher education and President Trump. The administration presents its campaign as a fight against anti-Semitism but has also targeted programs and teaching related to racial diversity and gender issues.
Harvard President Alan Garber in his statement on Monday accused the government of attempting "unprecedented and unlawful control." Dr. Garber said the consequences of the government's actions would be "severe and long-lasting."
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, accuses the government of launching a broad attack as a "lever to gain control over academic decision-making at Harvard." The lawsuit asks the federal court to block the White House order to suspend grants and contracts valued at $2.2 billion.
In the 51-page lawsuit, the Trump administration is accused of violating the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by attempting to limit what Harvard professors can teach students.
The complaint also argues that the government "cannot identify any rational connection between concerns about anti-Semitism and the frozen medical, scientific, technological, and other research aimed at saving American lives."
Ryan Enos, a political science professor who helped draft a letter signed by more than 800 faculty members calling to fight Mr. Trump's demands in court, called the lawsuit "a major signal not only for education but also for civil society that the Trump administration's actions are unlawful."
The conflict erupted after the White House accused the university of "insufficiently combating manifestations of anti-Semitism" and violating civil rights laws. As a condition for resuming funding, the administration demanded the abandonment of affirmative action practices, changes in hiring and admissions systems, and structural governance reforms.
In early April, the Trump administration sent Harvard a list of demands, including checking professors for plagiarism, providing the federal government with information on all foreign students accused of misconduct, and appointing an external monitor to ensure that academic departments are "diverse in terms of viewpoints."
According to two administration officials, government officials plan to freeze an additional $1 billion in research funding at Harvard. This mainly concerns funding from the National Institutes of Health, which is the main national agency for biomedical and health research.
On April 14, Harvard informed the administration in a letter that it would refuse to comply with demands it considers unlawful. This prompted the Trump administration to freeze funding, leading to the immediate cessation of work, affecting federally funded research projects on tuberculosis and radiation exposure.
"The university will not relinquish its independence and will not back down from its constitutional rights," wrote Dr. Garber in a message to the community this month.
Photo: The New York Times