As part of his campaign to bring about change at major US universities, President Donald Trump has previously clashed with Harvard, which Trump has accused of promoting alleged anti-Semitism and “radical left” ideologies.
“The United States cannot and will not tolerate these failures and takes this action to force Harvard to comply with federal civil rights law,” the Justice Department wrote in the lawsuit, “and to recover billions of dollars of taxpayer subsidies given to a discriminatory institution.”
Harvard has not responded to the allegations or commented on the lawsuit.
The lawsuit accused Harvard of being “deliberately indifferent” to the harassment of Jewish and Israeli students and of deliberately refusing to enforce its campus rules when the victims were Jewish or Israeli.
“This sent a clear message to Harvard’s Jewish and Israeli community that indifference was no accident; they were deliberately excluded and effectively denied equal access to educational opportunities,” the lawsuit said.
Accusations of anti-Semitism against Harvard
Less than two weeks after Trump took office, his administration began investigating allegations of discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students at Harvard.
The investigation focuses on actions taken before and after pro-Palestinian protests during the Israel-Hamas war.
Friday’s lawsuit claims Harvard failed to discipline employees or students who protested or tacitly supported the demonstrations, such as canceling or dismissing classes to counter the protests.
Since last summer, Harvard has rejected the government’s findings, saying the institution is committed to fighting bias.
“Anti-Semitism is a serious problem and is unacceptable no matter the context,” the university said in a statement. “Harvard has taken concrete, proactive steps to address the root causes of anti-Semitism in its community.”
In a letter last spring, Harvard President Alan Garber told government officials that the school had formed a task force to combat anti-Semitism
Garber said Harvard has appointed a new provost and a new dean and has reformed its discipline policies to make them “more consistent, fair and effective.”
Trump weaponizes federal funding
Trump’s move against Harvard has also been extended to other universities, with the White House freezing billions of dollars in research grants that the institution relies on for scientific and medical research.
When a university is found to be in violation of federal civil rights law and a settlement cannot be negotiated, the government may try to stop federal funding through the administrative process or, as the Trump administration has done with Harvard, by referring the case to the Justice Department through litigation.
Several universities have already reached agreements with the White House to restore their funding.
Of the deals, some include direct payments to the government, including $200 million (€172 million) from Columbia University, while Brown University has agreed to pay $50 million to state workforce development groups.
Harvard and the Trump administration were also negotiating, reportedly coming close to reaching an agreement on several occasions, with one agreement reportedly requiring Harvard to pay $500 million to gain access to federal funding and end the investigation.
But then Trump raised the figure to $1 billion, saying Harvard was “behaving very badly.”
Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, a leading organization of colleges and universities, said the administration was launching a “full-scale, multi-pronged” attack on Harvard.
“When bullies hit the table and when they don’t get what they want, they hit the table again,” Mitchell said.
Edited by: Alex Berry
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