WASHINGTON, Sept 4: A US federal judge has thrown out the Trump administration’s decision to strip Harvard University of billions in research funds, a case the BBC described as one of the fiercest battles between the White House and America’s leading universities.
According to the BBC, Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston ruled that the government breached Harvard’s constitutional rights when it moved to cancel roughly $2 billion in federal research support earlier this year. She said the freeze on funding, justified by claims of antisemitism, racial bias and “radical left” influence at the Ivy League school, could not stand under US free speech protections.
The BBC noted that while Harvard secured this legal win, the administration is expected to challenge the decision in higher courts. Columbia University and two other Ivy League institutions facing similar accusations from the Trump administration had opted to reach financial settlements rather than pursue a courtroom battle.
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Quoting extensively from the court’s 84-page opinion, the BBC reported that Judge Burroughs condemned Harvard for failing to address antisemitism on campus, but concluded the government’s actions were politically driven. In her words, officials had “used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically motivated assault on this country’s premier universities.”
The BBC added that Burroughs, an Obama-era appointee, barred the administration from suspending any further funding or withholding ongoing grants. She previously blocked Trump’s attempt to stop Harvard from hosting international students.
Harvard filed the lawsuit in April, accusing the government of punitive overreach. At the time, its president Alan Garber argued that “no government should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” as quoted by the BBC.
The broadcaster also pointed out that Trump had repeatedly threatened Harvard’s tax-exempt status and suggested seizing its patents tied to federally financed research. He had also floated a requirement for the university to pay at least $500 million before regaining access to funding.
The BBC reported that neither Harvard nor the White House offered immediate comment on Wednesday’s ruling.
