Trump administration gets sued by Harvard for freezing federal funds

On Monday, Harvard University sued the Trump administration to halt what it calls an “unlawful” plan to pause over $3 billion in federal funds.

In a statement, Harvard’s president, Alan Garber, said the government’s “sweeping and intrusive demands . . . would impose unprecedented and improper control over the University,” causing “stark real‑life consequences for patients, students, faculty, staff, researchers, and the standing of American higher education in the world.”

Soon after this action, over 150 US university leaders issued a declaration opposing “undue government intrusion” on campuses. Signatories included the presidents of Princeton, MIT, Brown, Yale, and a few others.

The administration says that the university has failed to address antisemitism. Earlier this month, it froze $2.2 billion in federal support and sought to block future grants worth hundreds of millions to Harvard and four other top universities.

Harvard gets into it with Trump administration

An email leaked to the journal Nature and shared on X on Monday showed a senior NIH official telling colleagues to “hold off on making awards” to Harvard, Brown, Columbia, Cornell and Northwestern, without explanation; these five schools received $1.7 billion in NIH grants last year.

I’ve received additional confirmation, as well as an email I can share publicly.

See the directive NIH grants management staff received from Michelle Bulls, director of extramural policy at NIH pic.twitter.com/a8i6m1Mlzx

— Max Kozlov (@maxdkozlov) April 18, 2025

The Trump administration has also threatened to strip the university of its tax‑exempt status after university leaders refused demands for tight government controls.

Seven institutions have faced targeted funding cuts since March. Cornell’s president, Michael Kotlikoff, said in an email Monday that he had received none of the official notices confirming a $1 billion freeze announced in early April.

However, he added that Cornell researchers have been served “stop work” orders by federal funders and said the university was “responding forcefully,” including legal, strategic, and policy‑level actions.

The government has revoked hundreds of student visas

Meanwhile, the government has stepped up detentions of pro‑Palestinian student protesters nationwide and revoked hundreds of international student visas. Officials told the university to provide records of its “foreign student visa holders’ illegal and violent activities” or lose eligibility to host overseas students.

Harvard said that it would “not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.” Garber added, “We will continue to comply with the law and expect the administration to do the same.”

The university formed committees to study antisemitism and released preliminary recommendations last summer. Garber said that these findings and a separate report on Muslim, anti‑Arab, and anti‑Palestinian bias would be published “soon.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that the administration’s antisemitism task force was upset by Harvard’s choice to make its letter public and planned further freezes of around $1 billion.

Harvard’s refusal to comply—unlike Columbia University’s agreement to overhaul its governance and student discipline—sparked a wave of alumni donations to Harvard.

Faculty, students, and alumni at other campuses have also called for coordinated resistance to the Trump administration’s actions against higher education.

Harvard is better positioned than most universities to weather cuts in federal support, thanks to its $53 billion endowment—the largest of any US higher education institution. Harvard and other universities have tapped bond markets for short‑term cash revenue, and some even imposed hiring freezes and other cost‑saving steps.