"Harvard support suspension illegal"…Trump, again halted by court

Repeated losses over troop deployment, tariffs, etc.

Order to cancel freeze on $2.2 billion in subsidies

"Attacking universities under the pretext of anti-Semitism

Government jeopardized decades of research"

A U.S. federal court ruled that the Trump administration's freezing of $2.2 billion (about 3 trillion won) in federal funding to pressure Harvard University was "illegal." The ruling says that Harvard University's research funds were improperly cut and must be restored. The decision puts a brake on the Trump administration's pressure tactics that used federal subsidies to rein in U.S. elite universities.

According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Judge Allison Burroughs of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on the 3rd (local time) decided to cancel the federal funding freeze and suspension measures the Trump administration imposed on Harvard last April. In the 84-page decision, Judge Burroughs said, "Harvard has been inadequate in responding to issues of anti-Semitism in recent years," but she pointed out that "there is virtually no practical connection between the research affected by the suspension of grants and anti-Semitism." He ruled that "the federal government used 'anti-Semitism' as a smokescreen to attack elite universities" and "jeopardized decades of university research." He further found that such actions by the Trump administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act, the First Amendment, and the Civil Rights Act. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of expression, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, and national origin.

In April, the Trump administration sent Harvard 10 demands. They included restricting admission of foreign students hostile to American values and institutions, and shutting down all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and initiatives, including in hiring and admissions. In the ruling, Judge Burroughs pointed out that "only one of the 10 demands relates to anti-Semitism."

Harvard rejected the Trump administration's policy change demands as "an infringement on academic freedom." The Trump administration then froze $2.2 billion in federal grants, and Harvard promptly filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the suspension, arguing it was illegal.

The Trump administration immediately pushed back against the court ruling. The White House spokesperson said, "Harvard failed to protect students and allowed discrimination to plague the campus for years," and expressed the intention to appeal, saying, "Our efforts to hold Harvard accountable will ultimately prevail." The New York Times (NYT) called the ruling "a clear rebuke to the Trump administration's attempt to reshape elite higher education by force."

The Trump administration used federal funding as a weapon to pressure elite universities such as Harvard. Earlier, Judge Burroughs halted the government's attempt to block the influx of international students, who make up about one-quarter of Harvard's student body, and the Trump administration appealed.

New York=Park Shin-young, correspondent nyusos@hankyung.com