Harvard and the Trump administration are going head-to-head in court on Monday over the federal government’s pause of billions of dollars in funding to the university.
Federal Judge Allison Burroughs is presiding over the case, where both sides are seeking a summary judgement to end the battle without going to trial.
Harvard argues the Trump administration is violating its First Amendment rights and seeking control over the university by yanking the nearly $3 billion.
“Harvard does not request an injunction that would prevent the Government from initiating proper investigations in full conformance with the Title VI process. It simply requests that the Government be enjoined from depriving Harvard of funding as a form of retaliation for Harvard’s exercise of its First Amendment right,” reads the latest filing from the school.
The Trump administration has argued it has the authority to pull the funds after determining the university has violated the civil rights of its Jewish students by failing to properly act against antisemitism on campus. The government also argues this court is not the proper venue for this dispute.
“This case is a contract dispute. Harvard seeks to enforce government contracts to receive
money that it claims it is due. But under the Tucker Act, Harvard must pursue relief in the Court
of Federal Claims, the only court with jurisdiction to hear its claims,” the Trump administration wrote in a June 14 filing.
It is unknown if Burroughs will make a final ruling today, and any ruling is likely to be appealed by one side or the other.
The president had previously indicated the two sides were working toward a deal, but there have been no indications of progress on that.
“We have been working closely with Harvard, and it is very possible that a Deal will be announced over the next week or so,” Trump wrote June 20.
Any ruling here could shape broader discussions, as higher education leaders are on the edge of their seats over how an agreement could affect how the federal government deals with other universities.
Burroughs already handed Harvard a win after she ruled against the administration’s directive to ban the university from enrolling or keeping foreign students.
After Harvard rejected a list of demands from the White House, the administration has launched multiple federal investigations, threatened its accreditation and issued a subpoena for foreign students’ data.
The Trump administration had demanded Harvard eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and reform its admissions and hiring practices, among other things.
Harvard publicly posted the letter, rejected the demands and quickly sued after the research funding was pulled.
