Harvard sues the Trump administration in escalating confrontation

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Washington Post

Updated April 21, 2025 at 5:54 p.m. EDT


Harvard University sued the Trump administration in federal court Monday, the latest move in the escalating feud between the nation’s wealthiest school and the White House.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. district court in Massachusetts against multiple federal agencies, seeks to block the Trump administration from withholding federal funding “as leverage to gain control of academic decision making at Harvard.” Alan M. Garber, the president of Harvard, said in a message to the university community Monday that the Trump administration’s actions are unlawful and beyond the government’s authority.

Although some members of the administration have said their letter of demands sent this month was issued by mistake, Garber said, other statements and actions suggest otherwise: In addition to a freeze of $2.2 billion in federal funding, the government has considered taking steps to freeze an additional $1 billion in grants, initiated numerous investigations of Harvard’s operations, threatened the education of international students, and announced that it is considering a revocation of Harvard’s tax-exempt status.

Garber noted that the government has cited the university’s response to antisemitism as a justification for its actions. “As a Jew and as an American, I know very well that there are valid concerns about rising antisemitism,” he said. And to address those concerns effectively “requires understanding, intention, and vigilance. Harvard takes that work seriously. We will continue to fight hate with the urgency it demands as we fully comply with our obligations under the law. That is not only our legal responsibility. It is our moral imperative.”

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/04/21/harvard-sues-trump-administration-funding-antisemitism/

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No paywall (gift)

Link to Harvard Crimson ARTICLE - HARVARD SUES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

Link to COMPLAINT (PDF viewer) - Read Harvard's Complaint Against the Trump Administration.

Link to COMPLAINT (PDF) - https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25903416/harvard-complaint-april-21.pdf

Article updated.

Original article -

April 21, 2025 at 5:08 p.m. EDT


Harvard University sued the Trump administration in federal court Monday in an effort to block the government from freezing funding to the school, the latest move in the escalating feud between the nation's wealthiest school and the White House.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. district court in Massachusetts against multiple federal agencies, seeks to block the Trump administration from withholding federal funding "as leverage to gain control of academic decision making at Harvard."

Alan M. Garber, the president of Harvard, said in a message to the university community Monday that the Trump administration's actions are unlawful and beyond the government's authority.

Although some members of the administration have said their letter of demands sent this month was issued by mistake, Garber said, other statements and actions suggest otherwise: In addition to a freeze of $2.2 billion in federal funding, the government has considered taking steps to freeze an additional $1 billion in grants, initiated numerous investigations of Harvard's operations, threatened the education of international students, and announced that it is considering a revocation of Harvard's tax-exempt status.

[jgmiller]

1. I will bet on Harvard's Harvard trained lawyers

than any of the administrations lawyers even if they were trained at Harvard. Not to mention that in a really ironic twist the Harvard team probably has a big assist from Yale.

[Amaryllis]

12. THinking the same. Harvard law not the right people to pick a fight with.

[rubbersole]

13. But, but Putin said ok, do it Grasshopper!

[SheilaAnn]

2. Is it true trump went after Harvard because they did not accept Barron? Saw that yesterday but don't know what to

believe these days..

[BumRushDaShow]

3. I doubt that was the case or true...

[Prairie Gates]

10. The Dauphin went to NYU so he could live at home with Melania in NY

He's not really the kind who can be on his own, and God knows Melania can't get a decent caviar service in Boston.

[rubbersole]

14. And the pool boy needs to get back to mar-a-lardo by summer.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. This will be fun to watch

[tanyev]

5. "Dude, that letter was just a starting point for the shakedown."

“It’s no fun when people don’t play along with our game.”

[bronxiteforever]

6. Harvard should make the Trump family do pro bono work

For Harvard after they win this. Like clean the commissary.

[Hornedfrog2000]

7. Is it stupid to want to

Donate to harvard for doing this...?

[Amaryllis]

11. No, not stupid. They deserve it for standing up to bullying.

[Dan]

8. It's too bad that they can not request as part of the Discovery

Trump’s grades in college that would show some basic for his academic knowledge.

[Prairie Gates]

9. Honestly, I didn't think they had any fight in them

Bravo, Harvard. For now, anyway.

[rubbersole]

16. Of all the stupid shit tsf has done...

...this isn't going to end well for him. And I thought he couldn't top appointing Kash Patel to the FBI. The feds can find out about your "mistakes" you made in the 3rd grade. Just sayin'.

[Paladin]

15. Way to go, Harvard! No retreat, no mercy! (nt)

[calimary]

17. Good. Go get him, Harvard!!!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

18. Maddow Blog-Trump's Harvard fiasco underscores the White House's incompetence crisis

UPDATE (April 21, 2025, 6:15 p.m. ET): On Monday, Harvard University filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, with the school’s president warning that “the consequences of the government’s overreach will be severe and long-lasting.”

Just when it seemed the White House’s Harvard mess couldn’t get worse, it appears Team Trump didn’t intend to send its original set of outlandish demands.
https://bsky.app/profile/jimrissmiller.bsky.social/post/3lndv4tezbk2p

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-harvard-fiasco-underscores-white-houses-incompetence-crisis-rcna202124

It started with a weird letter. On April 11, Harvard University officials received a series of outlandish written demands from the Trump administration, including a “request” to install outside auditors who would monitor the school’s academic departments.

The university realized that failure to comply with the ridiculous demands would result in governmental punishment. But left with little choice, Harvard balked anyway.

The retaliation was swift: Immediately after Harvard said it would not comply with the apparent extortion attempt, the Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in multiyear grants to Harvard. (There are federal requirements in place when imposing financial penalties like these, and the Republican White House appears to have ignored those requirements.) The Department of Homeland Security secretary also canceled nearly $3 million in agency grants to Harvard, and at Trump’s behest the IRS reportedly began scrutinizing the university’s tax-exempt status.

But what if the match that lit this fuse was dropped in error? The New York Times, citing multiple sources, reported that the original letter to Harvard “should not have been sent” and was “unauthorized.”

Its content was authentic, the three people said, but there were differing accounts inside the administration of how it had been mishandled. Some people at the White House believed it had been sent prematurely, according to the three people, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about internal discussions. Others in the administration thought it had been meant to be circulated among the task force members rather than sent to Harvard.

If the administration’s letter “should not have been sent,” was the White House prepared to retract it? Actually, no: Not only did a senior White House official tell the Times that the administration was standing by the letter, the same official went on the record to say it was “malpractice” for Harvard’s lawyers not to call administration officials about the contents of the ridiculous letter......

Alas, we can keep going. When Donald Trump and his team disclosed Social Security numbers while releasing documents related to the John F. Kennedy assassination, it was a reminder that this White House has a competence problem. When the president and his team sent non-criminals to a prison in El Salvador while falsely claiming that they were gang members, it was a reminder that this White House has a competence problem.

When Team Trump’s DOGE operation repeatedly stepped on its own tail, including an instance in which it confused $8 billion and $8 million, it was a reminder that this administration has a competence problem. When the White House royally screwed up its Office of Management and Budget spending “freeze” memo, it was a reminder that it has a competence problem.

The common thread tying together too many of the developments surrounding Trump’s White House: These guys just don’t seem to have any idea what they’re doing.

[PortTack]

19. Poor donnie...set to "win" another case!