Harvard’s lawsuit sets up monumental clash between America’s most prestigious university and the Trump administration

Harvard University sued the Trump administration Monday, setting up a titanic clash between America’s most prestigious university and the federal government over academic freedom, federal funding and campus oversight.

Harvard University’s lawsuit against the Trump administration has set up a titanic clash between America’s most prestigious university and the federal government over academic freedom, federal funding and campus oversight. The legal showdown over frozen federal funds will likely take years to play out and could end up at the Supreme Court. The nation’s oldest university, Harvard has emerged as a symbol of resistance against President Donald Trump, who has been trying to “reclaim” colleges and universities and has framed the conflict as a fight against antisemitism. The university says the White House is trying to control the Harvard community. The Trump administration has already rolled back diversity, equity and inclusion programs, arrested international students and revoked their visas, and frozen federal funding for schools that refused to submit to its demands. Harvard said the Trump administration has cut the funds to gain “leverage” over the university and that the move is part of a “pressure campaign” to force the school to submit to governmental control, according to court documents. The government’s actions “threaten Harvard’s academic independence” and “are part of a broader effort by the Government to punish Harvard for protecting its constitutional rights,” Harvard’s lawyers wrote.