Harvard v. Department of Health and Human Services

President and Fellows of Harvard College v. United States Department of Health and Human Services, et al.
CourtUnited States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Full case name President and Fellows of Harvard College v. United States Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., United States Department of Justice, Pamela J. Bondi, United States Department of Education, Linda McMahon, United States General Services Administration, Stephen Ehikian, United States Department of Energy, Christopher A. Wright, United States National Science Foundation, Sethuraman Panchanathan, United States Department of Defense, Peter B. Hegseth, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Janet E. Petro
StartedApril 21, 2025
Citation1:25-cv-11048
Court membership
Judge sittingAllison Burroughs

President and Fellows of Harvard College v. United States Department of Health and Human Services, et al. is a lawsuit filed in April 2025 by the Harvard Corporation against the Trump administration over the suspension of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal research funding. On September 3, Burroughs ruled in favor of Harvard, finding the government had violated its free speech rights and used allegations of antisemitism as a "smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this country's premier universities".

Background

See also: US Congress hearings on campus antisemitism during the Gaza war

During the Gaza war and genocide, Harvard has been among universities where there have been protest and activism in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, which the Trump administration has called antisemitic.[2][3][4][5] Harvard was among the ten US universities targeted by the federal government's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism and to which the federal government has cut funding—a move seen as reflecting prescriptions in Project Esther, part of The Heritage Foundation's political initiative Project 2025.[6][7][8] According to The New York Times, "the Trump administration’s biggest target has been Harvard, the country’s richest university. The university has roughly $9 billion at stake in its fight with the federal government."[9]

According to university president Alan Garber, funding for research at Harvard was affected by a federal grant pause imposed in January 2025. The pause was later halted by a court order.[10] Garber later criticized funding cuts at the National Institute of Health that would reduce grants at Harvard Medical School.[11] John Shaw, the vice provost for research, submitted a declaration with a lawsuit filed by thirteen universities, though Harvard did not join the lawsuit.[12] In March, the Trump administration stated it would conduct a review of US$9 billion in federal funding to Harvard University.[13]

The administration's prescription [...] violates Harvard’s First Amendment rights and exceeds the statutory limits of the government's authority [...] And it threatens our values as a private institution devoted to the pursuit, production, and dissemination of knowledge. No government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.

Harvard University's response to the Trump administration, April 14, 2025[14]

In April 2025, Harvard University negotiated with the Trump administration for two weeks in an attempt to reach an agreement, such as that made by Columbia, to avoid the loss of government funding.[15] Afterwards, a government lawyer from the administration sent a letter to Harvard demanding changes in its curriculum, hiring, and admissions policies, including hiring a third party acceptable to the Trump administration to audit "viewpoint diversity".[16] Government officials later said that the letter had been sent in error.[15]

Harvard publicly rejected the Trump administration's demands and called them an illegal overreach of government authority.[17] In response, the administration announced that it had frozen $2.3 billion in federal research funding for the university.[16][18] In addition, Trump asked the Internal Revenue Service to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status.[19] The U.S. Department of Homeland Security also told the university that it needed to share with the government detailed records about its foreign students—including "relevant information" about students holding student visas that had been involved in "known illegal" or "dangerous" activity, and information about the coursework of all student visa holders—or else it would lose its ability to enroll international students.[20][21] Harvard responded by filing the Harvard v. Department of Health and Human Services lawsuit against the Trump administration in the District Court of Massachusetts, arguing that the freezing of funds was unconstitutional.[22][23][24]

On May 22, 2025, Department of Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem informed Harvard that their Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification was revoked, and therefore they were now prohibited from hosting international students.[25][26] Subsequently, US district court judge Jeffrey White issued an injunction, blocking the Trump administration from revoking the legal status of international students in US universities.[27]

On May 23, 2025, Harvard sued the Trump administration for banning them from enrolling international students.[28] The same day, US district court judge Allison Burroughs issued a temporary restraining order, blocking the revocation of Harvard's certification.[29]

On May 27, 2025, the State Department ordered all US embassies to pause interviewing applicants for student visas, pending further guidance on "expanded social media vetting for all such applicants".[30]

On May 30, 2025, the State Department ordered all US embassies and consulates to conduct "comprehensive and thorough vetting" of the online presence of anyone seeking to visit Harvard from abroad.[31]

Lawsuit

On April 21, 2025, the President and Fellows of Harvard College sued several Trump officials, including secretary of health and human services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of education Linda McMahon, acting administrator of the General Services Administration Stephen Ehikian, and attorney general Pam Bondi, as well as their agencies, in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Harvard alleged that the Trump administration had levied its response to the university as "leverage to gain control of academic decision-making at Harvard."[32]

On September 2, The Boston Globe reported that the government's lawyer, Michael Velchik, had previously submitted a paper written from the perspective of Adolf Hitler while a senior at Harvard and later wrote to a friend that he enjoyed Mein Kampf more than any other book he'd read.[33]

On July 21, 2025, Harvard and the Department of Justice made arguments before judge Allison Burroughs in court.[34] On September 3, Burroughs ruled in favor of Harvard,[35] writing that the government had infringed upon Harvard's free speech rights and that it was "difficult to conclude anything other than that defendants used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this country's premier universities".[36] On December 18, the Justice Department filed an appeal.[37]

On September 3, 2025, Judge Allison D. Burroughs found Trump's efforts to freeze billions of dollars of funding for Harvard illegal, writing that the government had infringed upon Harvard's free speech rights and that it was "difficult to conclude anything other than that defendants used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this country's premier universities".[38]

See also

References

  1. ^ Zatz, Noah (2023-11-20). "Palestinian Freedom, Antisemitism Accusations, and Civil Rights Law". LPE Project. Retrieved 2026-02-14.
  2. ^ Betts, Anna (2025-04-19). "The showdown between Harvard and the White House – day by day". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-02-13.
  3. ^ Lacy, Akela (2025-06-20). "A Harvard Commencement Speaker Mentioned Gaza. The School Refused to Publish Her Speech". The Intercept. Retrieved 2026-02-13.
  4. ^ Johnson, Anna; Omer, Atalia (2025-12-08), Snow, David A.; McAdam, Doug; Moss, Dana M. (eds.), "Student Movement for Gaza on US Campuses", Contemporary Social Movements (1 ed.), Wiley, pp. 177–183, doi:10.1002/9781394300365.ch25, ISBN 978-1-394-30033-4, retrieved 2026-02-13{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  5. ^ Alsultany, Evelyn (October 2024). "Antisemitism and Islamophobia: The University's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Response to October 7, 2023". Journal of Palestine Studies. 53 (4): 8–24. doi:10.1080/0377919X.2025.2455077. ISSN 0377-919X.
  6. ^ Summers, Juana (August 8, 2025). "How the U.S. government defines antisemitism". NPR. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  7. ^ "Office of Public Affairs | DOJ, HHS, ED, and GSA Announce Initial Cancelation of Grants and Contracts to Columbia University Worth $400 Million | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. March 7, 2025. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  8. ^ "Trump's pro-Palestinian activism crackdown closely mirrors a plan from the creators of Project 2025". POLITICO. 2025-04-06. Retrieved 2026-02-13.
  9. ^ Blinder, Alan (2026-02-05). "How Universities Are Responding to Trump". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-02-13.
  10. ^ Patel, Dhruv; Yoon, Grace (January 29, 2025). "Garber Says Some Harvard Research May Halt After Trump Orders Freeze on Federal Grants". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  11. ^ Patel, Dhruv; Yoon, Grace (February 10, 2025). "Garber Blasts Trump's Limits on NIH Support for Indirect Costs". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  12. ^ Patel, Dhruv; Yoon, Grace. "Harvard Submits Declaration Alongside Lawsuit by 13 Colleges Over NIH Order, Calls Funding Caps 'Disastrous'". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  13. ^ Belkin, Douglas; Randazzo, Sara (April 21, 2025). "Harvard Is Suing the Trump Administration". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  14. ^ A. O. L. Staff (2025-04-14). "Harvard rejects Trump admin demands that must be met to receive federal funding". www.aol.com. Retrieved 2025-04-23.
  15. ^ a b Schmidt, Michael S.; Bender, Michael C. (April 18, 2025). "Trump Officials Blame Mistake for Setting Off Confrontation With Harvard". The New York Times.
  16. ^ a b Saul, Stephanie (April 21, 2025). "Harvard Sues Trump Administration Over Threats to Cut Funding". The New York Times. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
  17. ^ Moody, Josh (April 14, 2025). "Harvard Resists Trump's Demands". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  18. ^ "Trump officials cut billions in Harvard funds after university defies demands". The Guardian. April 14, 2025. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  19. ^ Bogage, Jacob; Stein, Jeff (April 16, 2025). "Trump administration asks IRS to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
  20. ^ Aleaziz, Hamed; Broadwater, Luke; Saul, Stephanie (April 17, 2025). "Trump Threatens to Block Harvard From Enrolling International Students". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  21. ^ Rose, Taylor Romine, Nouran Salahieh, Hanna Park, Andy (April 17, 2025). "DHS threatens to revoke Harvard's eligibility to host foreign students amid broader battle over universities' autonomy". CNN. Retrieved April 21, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ Bhuiyan, Johana (April 21, 2025). "Harvard sues Trump administration over efforts to 'gain control of academic decision-making'". The Guardian. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  23. ^ Grumbach, Gary; Stelloh, Tim (April 21, 2025). "Harvard sues federal government after Trump administration slashed billions in funding". NBC News. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  24. ^ Speri, Alice (July 21, 2025). "Harvard argues in court that Trump administration's $2.6bn cuts are illegal". The Guardian. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  25. ^ Yang, Maya (May 22, 2025). "Trump administration halts Harvard's ability to enroll international students". The Guardian. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  26. ^ "Harvard University Loses Student and Exchange Visitor Program Certification for Pro-Terrorist Conduct". U.S. Department of Homeland Security. May 22, 2025. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  27. ^ Yam, Kimmy; Atkins, Chloe (May 22, 2025). "Federal judge blocks Trump administration from revoking international students' legal status". NBC News. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  28. ^ Sainato, Michael; Campbell, Lucy (May 23, 2025). "Harvard University sues Trump administration over ban on enrolling foreign students". The Guardian. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  29. ^ Stempel, Jonathan; Raymond, Nate (May 23, 2025). "Judge temporarily blocks Trump admin from revoking Harvard enrollment of foreign students". Reuters. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  30. ^ Gedeon, Joseph (May 27, 2025). "Trump administration orders US embassies to stop student visa interviews". The Guardian. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
  31. ^ Gedeon, Joseph (May 30, 2025). "White House targets Harvard again with social media screening of all foreign visitors to school". The Guardian. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  32. ^ Saul, Stephanie (April 21, 2025). "Harvard University Sues Trump Administration". The New York Times. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
  33. ^ Burns, Hilary; Kopan, Tal (September 2, 2025). "DOJ lawyer in Harvard case once wrote a paper from Hitler's perspective". The Boston Globe. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  34. ^ Speri, Alice (July 21, 2025). "Harvard argues in court that Trump administration's $2.6bn cuts are illegal". The Guardian. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  35. ^ Patel, Dhruv; Rai, Avani; Sundar, Saketh (September 3, 2025). "Judge Strikes Down Trump Administration Funding Freeze to Harvard as Unconstitutional". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  36. ^ Blinder, Alan (September 3, 2025). "Judge Rules Trump Administration Illegally Canceled Harvard Funding". The New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  37. ^ Binkley, Collin (December 19, 2025). "Trump administration will appeal judge's order reversing federal funding cuts at Harvard". Associated Press. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  38. ^ Blinder, Alan (September 3, 2025). "Judge Rules Trump Administration Illegally Canceled Harvard Funding". The New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
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