US judge rules Trump unlawfully cut Harvard University research grants

"A United States federal judge has ruled that the administration of President Donald Trump violated the law when it cancelled research grants worth more than $2.2bn to Harvard University. The Wednesday decision from District Judge Allison Burroughs is a major setback for the Trump administration, which has sought to pressure universities into compliance with policies opposing pro-Palestine protests and diversity initiatives."

"In her order, Burroughs explained that the funding cuts ran afoul of the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects free speech. The Court vacates and sets aside the Freeze Orders and Termination Letters as violative of the First Amendment, the order states. All freezes and terminations of funding to Harvard made pursuant to the Freeze Orders and Termination Letters on or after April 14, 2025 are vacated and set aside."

"Burroughs also rejected the Trump administration's claims that withholding Harvard's grants was necessary to force the university to confront campus anti-Semitism. Rather, she pointed to ulterior motives. A review of the administrative record makes it 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, Burroughs wrote."

District Judge Allison Burroughs found that the Trump administration violated the law by cancelling more than $2.2bn in research grants to Harvard, ruling the funding cuts infringed First Amendment free-speech protections. The court vacated and set aside the Freeze Orders and Termination Letters and restored funding actions made on or after April 14, 2025. Burroughs rejected claims that withholding grants was necessary to force Harvard to confront campus anti‑Semitism, concluding that antisemitism had been used as a smokescreen for an ideologically motivated assault on premier universities. Other institutions reached settlements with the government amid funding threats.

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