“While Harvard is diligently seeking to mitigate the effects of these funding cuts, critical research efforts will be scaled back or even terminated,” Harvard lawyers wrote in a Wednesday filing.
Harvard has filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming that the federal government’s decision to pull billions of dollars in grants from the university was a politically-motivated attempt to force the university into ceding ground in antisemitism discussions.
“The Government’s attempt to coerce and control Harvard disregards […] fundamental First Amendment principles,” Harvard attorneys wrote in the lawsuit.
CNN notes that one of Harvard’s essential arguments has little to do with the Constitution; instead, it invokes the Administrative Procedure Act, which Harvard claims “requires this Court to hold unlawful and set aside any final agency action that is ‘arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.”
Under the Administrative Procedure Act, or APA, federal agencies are not necessarily required to hold a hearing or solicit public comments before making changes—but they cannot, as a general rule, abruptly change procedures without compelling reason.
“For decades, Harvard has relied on the well-established process for federal financial assistance in its budgeting and financial planning, including with respect to staffing, infrastructure, facility and equipment purchases, and long-term investment decisions,” Harvard said in its lawsuit.
Before the lawsuit was filed, Harvard was in discussions with the Trump administration about the issue of antisemitism on college campuses, particularly in relation to a recent spate of pro-Palestine protests. However, talks eventually collapsed—and once they did, it was only a matter of hours before the White House announced its plans to cut billions of dollars in grants.
“While Harvard is diligently seeking to mitigate the effects of these funding cuts, critical research efforts will be scaled back or even terminated,” Harvard lawyers wrote in a Wednesday filing.
Harvard is far from the only university challenging the Trump administration policies.
Earlier this month, a lower court ruled that the Trump administration must immediately restore about $600 million in teacher training grants to different states; this ruling was later overturned by the Supreme Court, which said that the Administrative Procedure Act cannot compel the government to disburse grant money.
“The Government is likely to succeed in showing the District Court lacked jurisdiction to order the payment of money under the APA,” the court’s conservative majority wrote in an unsigned order.
Although the lawsuit’s future prospects are far from certain, some educators have already said praised Harvard’s decision to file suit.
“Harvard absolutely did the right thing,” American Council on Education President Ted Mitchell told CNN. “They came up with a very courageous decision, and more importantly, I think, they made great arguments for why this kind of federal overreach is beyond the pale.”
Mitchell suggested that the speed with which the administration acted to cut Harvard’s grants could prove problematic in court.
“These actions are so sloppy I don’t see any serious chance that they’ll survive,” he said.
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