Trump Administration Faces New Lawsuit From Elite University’s Professors

Professors at Harvard University have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its threats to cut billions in federal funding after accusing the institution of failing to address antisemitism on its campus.

Newsweek reached out to the White House by email, outside of normal business hours, on Saturday afternoon for comment.

Why It Matters

The Trump administration has targeted universities on a number of issues as President Donald Trump seeks to overhaul liberal universities following nationwide protests that erupted in the wake of Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, surprise attack on the Middle Eastern country.

In January, Harvard settled a lawsuit brought by students who accused the school of permitting antisemitic harassment.

Last month, Trump issued an ultimatum to Columbia University, requiring administrators to change policies on a range of issues or lose out on $400 million in federal funding and an additional $5 billion in grants, again citing antisemitism on the campus. Ultimately, Columbia caved to Trump’s demands, such as banning masks that conceal someone’s identity and hiring 36 campus officers who can remove individuals from campus or arrest them.

What To Know

The Trump administration last month announced it would review roughly $9 billion in federal funding allocated to Harvard University, widely seen as a symbolic cornerstone of higher education in the United States. The administration again cited a failure to handle antisemitism on campus as the reasoning.

The Harvard Crimson first reported that the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the Harvard faculty chapter of the group responded to Trump’s threat by suing the administration. In a suit filed on Friday in the Federal District Court in Massachusetts, demands an end to the funding review on the grounds that it is allegedly coercive and unlawfully undermines academic freedom.

The AAUP urges the court to “permanently enjoin Defendants [the federal government] from using the power of the government to target and punish Harvard University for the viewpoints and speech of plaintiffs and their members.”

“This action challenges the Trump administration’s unlawful and unprecedented misuse of federal funding and civil rights enforcement authority to undermine academic freedom and free speech on a university campus,” the lawsuit said.

The suit added: “Harvard, like all American universities, depends on federal funding to conduct its academic research. Threats like these are an existential “gun to the head” for a university.”

The AAUP laid out its argument across 280 points, calling many of the grievances some form of a First Amendment violation and accusing the Trump administration of taking actions “that are contrary to constitutional rights.”

What People Are Saying

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in a statement last month: “Harvard can right these wrongs and restore itself to a campus dedicated to academic excellence and truth-seeking, where all students feel safe.”

Harvard President Alan M. Garber, in a December interview with The Harvard Crimson: “We could not carry out our mission the way we do now without substantial federal research support, nor could we provide the benefits to the nation that we do now without that support.”

What Happens Next?

The Trump administration has yet to respond to the lawsuit.