Judge Directs Trump Administration to Reinstate US$2 Billion in Frozen Harvard Funding

NEW YORK, Sept 4 — A US judge has ordered the Trump administration to reverse sweeping funding cuts to Harvard University that froze more than US$2 billion, ruling the move unconstitutional amid allegations of antisemitism and bias at the Ivy League school.

The administration had argued that the cuts were legally justified, accusing Harvard of failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students during campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza. Harvard rejected those claims, saying the real motive was Trump’s bid to exert control over its admissions, hiring, and curriculum.

The freeze forced Harvard to halt hiring and suspend major research initiatives, particularly in medicine and public health—pauses experts warned could endanger American lives.

The decision, which may be appealed, could influence settlement talks reportedly ongoing between Harvard and the White House. Under such a deal, Harvard might agree to pay a substantial sum in acknowledgment of Trump’s claims in exchange for restored funding. Several other universities have already struck similar arrangements.

“The Court vacates and sets aside the Freeze Orders and Termination Letters as violative of the First Amendment,” Boston federal judge Allison Burroughs wrote in her ruling. She further barred the administration from using the same rationale for future funding cuts.

Legal experts noted that despite Harvard’s decisive courtroom win, the university may still negotiate. Albany Law School professor Ray Brescia told AFP that Trump could return to the table with a settlement offer, possibly around US$500 million.

In her judgment, Burroughs acknowledged that Harvard itself admitted antisemitism was a problem on campus, but stressed that cutting research funding would not address it. “It is clear Harvard has struggled with antisemitism and could have responded better,” she said. “That said, there is little link between the research defunded and antisemitism.”

Burroughs, an Obama appointee, concluded that Trump had “used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically motivated assault on this country’s premier universities.”

Both Harvard and the American Association of University Professors challenged the cuts. Trump, meanwhile, sought unsuccessfully to have the case transferred to the Court of Federal Claims instead of Boston’s federal court, located just miles from Harvard’s campus.

Harvard has been a prime target in Trump’s broader campaign against elite universities, which he accuses of harboring liberal bias and tolerating antisemitism, particularly in connection with protests over the Gaza war. His administration also moved to curb Harvard’s ability to host international students, who make up 27 per cent of its enrollment. — AFP