A federal judge in Boston has ruled that the Trump administration violated the Constitution by freezing more than $2 billion in research grants to Harvard University, calling the move an unlawful attempt to punish the institution.
U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs found that the freeze infringed on Harvard’s First Amendment rights and violated federal law, describing the administration’s actions as “retaliation, unconstitutional conditions, and unconstitutional coercion.” Her decision cancels the freeze and blocks the government from using similar reasoning to cut Harvard’s funding in future.
The cuts, which had halted nearly a thousand federal grants, threatened research in cancer, quantum computing, and battlefield medicine. The administration claimed its measures were necessary to force Harvard to do more against antisemitism.
Burroughs disagreed, ruling that the government failed to follow civil rights law procedures, ignored Harvard’s policy changes, and misused antisemitism as a “smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault” on universities.
Harvard President Alan Garber said the judgment was a decisive win for academic freedom and critical research. Faculty members and academic groups also welcomed the ruling, calling it a defense of universities’ independence from political interference.
The White House did not comment but is expected to appeal.
The case underscores a broader clash between the Trump administration and leading universities, with Harvard resisting while other Ivy League schools have reached settlements.
Based on reporting by The Washington Post
