Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Prime Minister of Yemen’s Houthi Government Killed in Israeli Strike

16 hours ago

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Signs Law Redrawing Congressional Maps

2 days ago

US Air Force will Offer Military Funeral Honors to Slain Capitol Rioter

2 days ago

US Republican Senator Joni Ernst Will Not Run for Re-Election, CBS News Reports

2 days ago

Wall Street Falls as Dell, Nvidia Drive Tech Losses

2 days ago

US Denies Visas to Palestinian Officials Ahead of UN General Assembly

2 days ago

Minneapolis Children Revealed Courage, Absorbed Fear During Church Shooting

2 days ago

Ford Recalls Nearly 500,000 Vehicles Over Brake Fluid Leak

3 days ago

Fresno-Bound Passenger Says Delta Attendant Slapped Him, Seeks $20M

3 days ago
Harvard, Trump Administration to Face off in Court Over Canceled Funding
Reuters logo
By Reuters
Published 1 month ago on
July 21, 2025

A pedestrian passes the federal courthouse where Harvard University is urging a federal judge to order U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to restore about $2.5 billion in canceled federal grants and cease efforts to cut off research funding, in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., July 21, 2025. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

BOSTON – Harvard University will urge a federal judge on Monday to order U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to restore about $2.5 billion in canceled federal grants and cease efforts to cut off research funding to the prestigious Ivy League school.

The court hearing before U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston marks a crucial moment in the White House’s escalating conflict with Harvard, which has been in the administration’s crosshairs after it rejected a list of demands to make changes to its governance, hiring and admissions practices in April.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based university says hundreds of research projects including ones concerning cancer treatments, infectious diseases and Parkinson’s disease will be in jeopardy unless the judge declares the grant cancellations unlawful.

Harvard Becomes Central Focus

The country’s oldest and richest university has become a central focus of the administration’s broad campaign to leverage federal funding to force change at U.S. universities, which Trump says are gripped by antisemitic and “radical left” ideologies.

“The Trump administration’s proposition is simple and commonsense: Don’t allow antisemitism and DEI to run your campus, don’t break the law, and protect the civil liberties of all students,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement.

Among the earliest actions the administration took against Harvard was the cancellation of hundreds of grants awarded to researchers on the grounds that the school failed to do enough to address harassment of Jewish students on its campus.

The Trump administration has since sought to bar international students from attending the school; threatened Harvard’s accreditation status; and opened the door to cutting off more funds by finding it violated federal civil rights law.

As part of Trump’s spending and tax bill, the Republican-led Congress increased the federal excise tax on Harvard’s income from its $53 billion endowment to 8% from 1.4%. Income from the endowment covers 40% of Harvard’s operating budget.

Harvard President Alan Garber said last week that the various federal actions since Trump returned to office in January could strip the school of nearly $1 billion annually, forcing it to lay off staff and freeze hiring.

Harvard Says They Have Taken Inclusive Steps

Harvard has said it has taken steps to ensure its campus is welcoming to Jewish and Israeli students, who it acknowledges experienced “vicious and reprehensible” treatment following the onset of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza in October 2023.

But, Garber has said the administration’s demands have gone far beyond addressing antisemitism and unlawfully seek to regulate the “intellectual conditions” on its campus by controlling who it hires and who it teaches.

Those demands, which came in an April 11 letter from an administration task force, included calls for the private university to restructure its governance, alter its hiring and admissions practices to ensure an ideological balance of viewpoints and end certain academic programs.

After Harvard rejected those demands, it said the administration began retaliating against it in violation of the free speech protections of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment by abruptly cutting funding the school says is vital to supporting scientific and medical research.

Burroughs, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, in a separate case has already barred the administration from halting its ability to host international students.

Trump has expressed optimism that Harvard will eventually settle with his administration. Fields on Friday said a good deal was more than possible and that the administration is “confident that Harvard will eventually come around and support the president’s vision.”

In court, the administration has argued that Burroughs lacks jurisdiction to hear the challenge and that the grant contracts made clear they could be canceled if the funded projects do not carry out federal government policy objectives.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond and Tim McLaughlin in Boston; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Cynthia Osterman)

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Bulldogs Check All the Boxes in Runaway Win Over Georgia Southern

DON'T MISS

Judge Blocks Pillar of Trump’s Mass Deportation Campaign

DON'T MISS

Classic Cars Will Still Need a Smog Test in California After Lawmakers Reject Jay Leno Bill

DON'T MISS

Visalia Driver Arrested for DUI After Multiple Crashes and Pedestrian Injured

DON'T MISS

Dollar Trades Lower With Fed Cut In View, On Course For Monthly Drop

DON'T MISS

Visalia Semi Crash Injures Amazon Truck Driver After Red Light Collision

DON'T MISS

Evacuation of Gaza City Would Be Unsafe and Unfeasible, Says Head of Red Cross

DON'T MISS

A Goodbye Love Note to My Dog: Remembering My Best Friend Harriet

DON'T MISS

Most Trump Tariffs Are Not Legal, US Appeals Court Rules

DON'T MISS

New $250 Visa Fee Risks Deepening US Travel Slump

UP NEXT

Judge Blocks Pillar of Trump’s Mass Deportation Campaign

UP NEXT

Classic Cars Will Still Need a Smog Test in California After Lawmakers Reject Jay Leno Bill

UP NEXT

Visalia Driver Arrested for DUI After Multiple Crashes and Pedestrian Injured

UP NEXT

Dollar Trades Lower With Fed Cut In View, On Course For Monthly Drop

UP NEXT

Visalia Semi Crash Injures Amazon Truck Driver After Red Light Collision

UP NEXT

Evacuation of Gaza City Would Be Unsafe and Unfeasible, Says Head of Red Cross

UP NEXT

A Goodbye Love Note to My Dog: Remembering My Best Friend Harriet

UP NEXT

Most Trump Tariffs Are Not Legal, US Appeals Court Rules

UP NEXT

New $250 Visa Fee Risks Deepening US Travel Slump

UP NEXT

Prime Minister of Yemen’s Houthi Government Killed in Israeli Strike

Visalia Driver Arrested for DUI After Multiple Crashes and Pedestrian Injured

15 hours ago

Dollar Trades Lower With Fed Cut In View, On Course For Monthly Drop

15 hours ago

Visalia Semi Crash Injures Amazon Truck Driver After Red Light Collision

15 hours ago

Evacuation of Gaza City Would Be Unsafe and Unfeasible, Says Head of Red Cross

15 hours ago

A Goodbye Love Note to My Dog: Remembering My Best Friend Harriet

15 hours ago

Most Trump Tariffs Are Not Legal, US Appeals Court Rules

15 hours ago

New $250 Visa Fee Risks Deepening US Travel Slump

16 hours ago

Prime Minister of Yemen’s Houthi Government Killed in Israeli Strike

16 hours ago

California Schools Reverse Truancy Trends. Improving Reading Scores Could Be Next

16 hours ago

High-Speed Rail Hits a New Snag as Lawmakers Reject Proposal to Expedite Construction

16 hours ago

Bulldogs Check All the Boxes in Runaway Win Over Georgia Southern

Matt Entz got his first victory as Fresno State football coach. He called it exciting. The Bulldogs’ offensive and defensive lines sho...

3 hours ago

No. 6 Bryson Donelson celebrates after scoring a touchdown for the Fresno State Bulldogs over the Georgia Southern Eagles on Aug. 30, 2025. (Fresno State)
3 hours ago

Bulldogs Check All the Boxes in Runaway Win Over Georgia Southern

Image of man being detained in Denver by ICE agents
12 hours ago

Judge Blocks Pillar of Trump’s Mass Deportation Campaign

California lawmakers killed “Leno’s Law,” a bill to exempt classic cars from smog checks, despite Jay Leno’s support and bipartisan backing. (Shutterstock)
15 hours ago

Classic Cars Will Still Need a Smog Test in California After Lawmakers Reject Jay Leno Bill

A Visalia man was arrested Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, for DUI and other charges after a series of crashes downtown left a pedestrian with minor injuries. (Visalia PD)
15 hours ago

Visalia Driver Arrested for DUI After Multiple Crashes and Pedestrian Injured

15 hours ago

Dollar Trades Lower With Fed Cut In View, On Course For Monthly Drop

An Amazon semi ran a red light and collided with another truck in Visalia early Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025, seriously injuring the driver. (Visalia PD)
15 hours ago

Visalia Semi Crash Injures Amazon Truck Driver After Red Light Collision

Displaced Palestinians ride on a vehicle loaded with belongings as they flee from one area to another within Gaza City, amid an Israeli military operation, in Gaza City, August 29, 2025. (Reuters File)
15 hours ago

Evacuation of Gaza City Would Be Unsafe and Unfeasible, Says Head of Red Cross

Mell Garcia says a heartfelt goodbye to her dog Harriet after 13 years, cherishing their memories and celebrating the love they shared. (Special to GV Wire)
15 hours ago

A Goodbye Love Note to My Dog: Remembering My Best Friend Harriet

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend