US court rules Trump's administration unlawfully cut Harvard University funding

According to Krungthep Turakij, the ruling by Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston was a major legal victory for Harvard, which had sought to resolve its ongoing conflict with the White House over several issues involving the nation's oldest and wealthiest university.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based institution had become a focal point of a federal campaign aimed at withholding federal funds to push for changes at universities across the US. Trump claimed these institutions were under the influence of anti-Semitism and “radical left-wing” ideology.

The US government had cancelled funding for hundreds of Harvard researchers after the university failed to address the issue of anti-Semitic threats to students effectively.

In response, Harvard filed a lawsuit, arguing that the Trump administration violated freedom of speech rights after the institution refused to comply with government demands to reform administration, hiring practices, and academic programmes to align with the state’s ideological agenda.

Burroughs, an Obama-appointed judge, sided with Harvard, stating that while the university had tolerated hate speech for too long, the Trump administration had used anti-Semitism as a smokescreen to attack one of the country’s leading universities for ideological reasons.

The judge said that the government’s campaign to pressure Harvard by withholding funding was unlawful and retaliated against the institution by violating freedom of speech under the First Amendment to the US Constitution.

Burroughs emphasised that it was the court's duty to protect academic freedom and ensure that critical research could not be suspended arbitrarily or by improper procedures, even if such actions risked upsetting a government pursuing its own agenda at any cost.

White House spokesperson Liz Huston vowed to appeal the ruling, stating that Harvard had no constitutional right to taxpayer funds and should not be entitled to future federal grants.

In a message to all members of the Harvard community, University President Alan Garber stated that the ruling "reinforces our arguments to protect the academic freedom of the university, vital scientific research, and the core principles of higher education in America."

However, three other Ivy League institutions, including Columbia University, reached agreements with the government. Columbia agreed to pay US$220 million in July to restore federal research funding, after being accused of allowing anti-Semitic sentiment to proliferate on its campus.

Trump's administration also imposed other measures on Harvard, as well as Columbia, after protests supporting Palestine created unrest on their campuses, leading to further scrutiny of their operations.

Harvard responded, assuring that the institution had taken steps to ensure it welcomed both Jewish and Israeli students, who had been subjected to "brutal and reprehensible" treatment following Israel's actions in Gaza.

The decision to cancel federal grants was one of several measures taken by the government against Harvard. In addition, the administration had imposed a ban on foreign students, threatened the university’s accreditation status, and opened the door for further funding cuts due to alleged violations of federal civil rights laws.