US court overturns decision to cut more than $2 billion in funding to Harvard University

A US federal judge on September 3 ruled in favor of Harvard University, requiring the Trump administration to cancel its decision to cut billions of dollars in research funding, which was implemented in April, on the grounds that Harvard tolerated anti-Semitism and ideological bias.

Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Photo: REUTERS/TTXVN

According to records, on April 11, the Trump administration sent a letter demanding that Harvard eliminate anti-Semitic behavior on campus and end diversity programs that favor certain minority groups. After Harvard rejected the request, on April 14, the administration announced a “freeze” of $2.2 billion in multi-year research grants and $60 million in federal contracts, forcing the school to impose a hiring freeze and suspend a series of major research programs in public health and medicine. Experts warned at the time that this delay could directly impact the health, even the lives, of Americans.

In her ruling, Judge Allison Burroughs of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts said the freezes and terminations violated the First Amendment, the Administrative Procedure Act, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. She acknowledged that Harvard had a history of anti-Semitism and “should have handled it better,” but stressed that the Trump administration’s measures had “no real connection” to anti-Semitism.

Ms. Burroughs also noted that Harvard has belatedly begun to take steps to address anti-Semitism and is prepared to do more if necessary. However, she asserted that the court’s responsibility is to ensure that academic freedom and research are not arbitrarily terminated. The ruling also declared all funding freezes and terminations that have been imposed on Harvard since April 14, 2025, null and void.

Harvard and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) have jointly filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s cuts. Trump, for his part, is seeking to have the case moved to the Court of Federal Claims, rather than having it heard in Boston, just a few miles from Harvard’s Cambridge campus.

Harvard has long been at the center of Mr. Trump’s campaign against elite universities, which he and his allies accuse of being “liberal bastions,” lacking diversity of opinion and condoning protests against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The administration has also tightened regulations on international students, who make up 27% of Harvard’s 2024-2025 student body and have significantly affected the school’s revenue.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/toa-an-my-huy-bo-quyet-dinh-cat-giam-hon-2-ty-usd-tai-tro-cho-dai-hoc-harvard-389932.html