Harvard Sues Trump Administration Over $2.2 Billion Funding Freeze

Updated April 21, 2025, at 5:33 p.m.

Harvard sued the Trump administration in federal court on Monday over its multibillion dollar cuts to the University’s research funding, accusing the White House of undertaking an arbitrary and unconstitutional campaign to “punish Harvard for protecting its constitutional rights.”

The move comes just one day after the Trump administration reportedly planned to cut another $1 billion in federal grants and contracts from Harvard, on top of an existing $2.2 billion cut that was announced last week.

And it sets in motion a historic legal clash as Harvard attempts to combat the Trump administration’s devastating multi-agency campaign to slash the University’s funding in exchange for deep concessions — including federal audits of Harvard’s programs, agreements to screen international students for their beliefs, and the installation of administrators who will ensure the White House’s demands are carried out.

“The tradeoff put to Harvard and other universities is clear: Allow the Government to micromanage your academic institution or jeopardize the institution’s ability to pursue medical breakthroughs, scientific discoveries, and innovative solutions,” Harvard’s lawyers wrote in the Monday filing.

The 51-page complaint, filed in a United States district court, asks for the court to halt and declare unlawful the $2.2 billion freeze, as well as any freezes made in connection with “unconstitutional conditions” in the Trump administration’s April 3 and April 11 letters outlining demands to Harvard.

“We stand for the truth that colleges and universities across the country can embrace and honor their legal obligations and best fulfill their essential role in society without improper government intrusion,” University President Alan M. Garber ’76 announced in a message to Harvard affiliates Monday afternoon.

In the complaint, Harvard accused the administration of unlawfully freezing billions in research funding to pressure the University into restructuring its governance, academic programs, and hiring practices. It argued that the freeze violates the First Amendment by “imposing viewpoint-based conditions on Harvard’s funding.”

The University also accused federal agencies of bypassing legally required procedures under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, alleging that the Department of Health and Human Services cut off grants without fair legal justification. The freeze, Harvard’s lawyers wrote, “has nothing at all to do with antisemitism and Title VI compliance.”

“Under whatever name, the Government has ceased the flow of funds to Harvard as part of its pressure campaign to force Harvard to submit to the Government’s control over its academic programs. That, in itself, violates Harvard’s constitutional rights,” the lawyers added.

In his message, Garber alleged that the Trump administration’s second — and more aggressive — set of demands on April 11 were part of a campaign against Harvard that used concerns of campus antisemitism as a pretext.

“Before taking punitive action, the law requires that the federal government engage with us about the ways we are fighting and will continue to fight antisemitism,” he wrote. “Instead, the government’s April 11 demands seek to control whom we hire and what we teach.”

Garber also pledged in his message to “soon” release the long-anticipated final reports of the two presidential task forces on combating antisemitism and Islamophobia. Although the reports were originally slated to be released during the fall 2024 semester, they remain unpublished — a delay that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services slammed in a letter to Garber on Saturday.

Harvard will be represented by Robert K. Hur ’95 and William A. Burck, both lawyers with deep ties to President Donald Trump. Hur was appointed to the United States Department of Justice by Trump in his first term, and Burck has served as counsel for the Trump Organization. Lawyers affiliated with law firms Ropes & Gray and Lehtosky Keller Cohn will also represent Harvard, according to the lawsuit.

[ Read Harvard’s complaint against the Trump administration. ]

The Monday announcement follows a week-long salvo last week against Harvard. After Garber decided to defy the Trump administration’s aggressive set of demands on Monday, the Trump administration responded with the initial $2.2 billion funding cut, a series of probes, and threats to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status.

The Monday lawsuit names the Department of Education, Department of Justice, General Services Administration, Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the HHS, and the National Institutes of Health as defendants.

The Education Department, GSA, and HHS have led the charge against Harvard and their heads were listed as signatories on the April 3 and April 11 letters. The other departments have cut off grants and contracts to Harvard researchers in the wake of the funding pause.

In his message to affiliates last Monday, Garber alleged that the White House’s demands were beyond federal authority and could be in violation of the First Amendment and Title VI — a blunt statement that left a courtroom battle between Massachusetts Hall and the White House increasingly likely.

The lawsuit comes just three days after the New York Times reported that the April 11 letter, which contained a more aggressive set of demands, was sent in error and without authorization.

The Monday lawsuit is not the first time that Harvard has taken Trump to court. In 2021, former President Lawrence S. Bacow successfully sued the Trump administration over its Covid-era policy barring international students from retaining their visas if they enrolled in virtual classes.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

—Staff writer Dhruv T. Patel can be reached at dhruv.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @dhruvtkpatel.

—Staff writer Grace E. Yoon can be reached at grace.yoon@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @graceunkyoon.