A federal judge in Boston has overturned the Trump administration’s decision to cut at least $2.6 billion in research grant funding for Harvard University.
The judge, Allison Burroughs, ruled on Wednesday in favour of Harvard that the Trump administration was using antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted assault against the school.
Ms Burroughs, of the US District Court in Boston, identified the US government’s actions as mainly “ideologically-motivated assault on this country’s premier universities.”
“We must fight against antisemitism, but we equally need to protect our rights, including our right to free speech, and neither goal should nor needs to be sacrificed on the altar of the other,” the judge noted.
“Now it is the job of the courts to similarly step up, to act to safeguard academic freedom and freedom of speech as required by the Constitution, and to ensure that important research is not improperly subjected to arbitrary and procedurally infirm grant terminations, even if doing so risks the wrath of a government committed to its agenda no matter the cost,” she said.
This ruling is a crucial victory and edge for Harvard University in its clash with President Donald Trump’s administration.
While this may not be the final judgment on the matter, as Mr Trump earlier vowed to appeal any judgment against the goal of administration, it is an interim rebuff to protect Ivy League universities and give them leverage in the ongoing settlement talks with the White House.
