US federal judge sides with Harvard in lawsuit over Trump administration funding freeze

Washington: A US federal judge has sided with Harvard University in a lawsuit against the Trump administration, ruling that the federal government illegally froze billions of dollars in research funds.

Allison Burroughs, judge of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, wrote on Wednesday in a ruling that “Defendants (US Department of Health and Human Services and US Department of Justice) used anti-semitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this country’s premier universities”.

On April 11, Trump administration officials sent a letter to Harvard, demanding that the university eliminate anti-semitism on campus and dismantle diversity initiatives that favour certain minority groups, Xinhua news agency reported.

On April 11, the Trump administration sent Harvard 10 demands that included restricting the acceptance of international students who are “hostile to the American values and institutions”, having a third party audit programs and departments “that most fuel antisemitic harassment or reflect ideological capture”, and shuttering all diversity, equity and inclusion programs and initiatives, including in hiring and admissions.

The Trump administration “did so in a way that runs afoul of” the Administrative Procedure Act, the First Amendment of the US Constitution, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the ruling said.

On April 14, after Harvard rejected the administration’s demands, the Trump administration announced a freeze on $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contract value to the university.

“We must fight against anti-semitism, but we equally need to protect our rights, including our right to free speech, and neither goal should nor needs to be sacrificed on the altar of the other,” Burroughs wrote.

Noting that Harvard “was wrong to tolerate hateful behaviour for as long as it did,” the judge wrote that “Harvard is currently, even if belatedly, taking steps it needs to take to combat anti-semitism and seems willing to do even more if need be”.

“Now it is the job of the courts to similarly step up, to act to safeguard academic freedom and freedom of speech as required by the Constitution, and to ensure that important research is not improperly subjected to arbitrary and procedurally infirm grant terminations, even if doing so risks the wrath of a government committed to its agenda no matter the cost,” Burroughs wrote.

The judge granted a motion for summary judgment, which means she has ruled in favour of Harvard without a trial.

The White House appeared to defy the ruling, saying in a statement on Wednesday: “Harvard does not have a Constitutional right to taxpayer dollars and remains ineligible for grants in the future.”

“To any fair-minded observer, it is clear that Harvard University failed to protect their students from harassment and allowed discrimination to plague their campus for years,” White House spokesperson Liz Huston said.

The Education Department rebuffed the ruling, calling it “unsurprising”.

“The same Obama-appointed judge that ruled in favour of Harvard’s illegal race-based admissions practices — which was ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court — just ruled against the Trump Administration’s efforts to hold Harvard accountable for rampant discrimination on campus,” Spokesperson Madi Biedermann said.

“Cleaning up our nation’s universities will be a long road, but worth it.”

IANS