Federal Judge Rules Trump's Harvard Funding Cuts As Illegal

A federal judge ruled yesterday that Trump's cuts to the funding of Harvard University were illegal, but the ruling may not be the final say.

Earlier in the year, US President Donald Trump demanded that Harvard change their curriculum and eliminate programs like those for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). After the university refused to do so, Trump froze over $2.2 billion in government grants to Harvard, claiming that he was preventing antisemitism.

However, Harvard did not budge, and they made a significant legal victory yesterday after a federal ruling went against the cuts. After the cuts, Harvard sued, alleging that the stoppage of funding for their research programs infringed on the university's First Amendment and due process rights. Harvard lawyers called Trump's actions "blatantly unconstitutional" as he tried to force the university to implement his desires, with the Trump administration defending their decision by mentioning unchecked antisemitism across the Harvard campus. While Trump plans to halt federal grants to hundreds of schools across the nation, Harvard was the only university that sued.

Then, yesterday, Judge Allison Burroughs of the US District Court in Boston, Massachusetts, ruled in favor of Harvard, releasing an 84-page ruling explaining her decision. The document centered around how Harvard seemed to be taking adequate steps to fight antisemitism and how the protection of free speech is also crucial. Nevertheless, it also called on the entire Justice Department to prevent schools from being "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" as a reference to the Trump administration.

The document also acknowledged that antisemitism is still present on the Harvard campus and that they should have taken stronger steps to address it, as they are doing now. However, the judge confirmed that antisemitism is not a legitimate basis to cancel funding, and Trump's earlier demands to the university had nothing to do with mistreatment or hate against Jewish people– according to Judge Burroughs, the true reason for Trump's funding cuts were his "power and political views."

The Trump administration quickly denounced her decision, reinforcing their claims of discrimination on the Harvard campus, and Trump plans to appeal the decision in the Supreme Court, similar to what he plans to do with the latest ruling against his tariffs.

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Image credit to Harvard University