Donald Trump’s unusually aggressive campaign against Harvard University has been multifaceted, but at the heart of the offensive is the president taking aim at the school’s finances.
In fact, before the Republican’s second term reached its three-month mark, the White House had approached Harvard with 10 demands on a wide variety of topics, including the installation of outside auditors who would monitor academic departments to ensure “viewpoint” diversity, as defined by Team Trump. Harvard, not surprisingly, rejected those terms.
The retaliation was swift: The Trump administration announced in April that it would freeze more than $2 billion in grants to Harvard in response to its resistance.
The university and its lawyers took the matter to court. As NBC News reported, it’s now prevailed at the district court level.
A federal judge in Boston on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze nearly $2.2 billion in federal grants to Harvard. U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs granted in part Harvard’s motion with respect to the freeze orders. ‘All freezes and terminations of funding to Harvard made pursuant to the Freeze Orders and Termination Letters on or after April 14, 2025 are vacated and set aside,’ the order said.
While the judge acknowledged the White House’s allegations related to antisemitism at Harvard, she added, “[T]here is, in reality, little connection between the research affected by the grant terminations and antisemitism.”
This is the second time this summer that the administration has lost a court fight with the university: In June, after the White House tried to rescind the school’s ability to host international students, the same federal judge blocked the policy from proceeding. The case will likely be appealed, but in the meantime, it’s worth emphasizing that the money in question wasn’t allocated as gifts or rewards. At issue are scholarly research grants that were awarded after a competitive process. The federal funds weren’t about helping Harvard, they were about helping us. To be sure, the university suffered as a result of the White House’s retaliatory tactics, but Harvard’s victory at the district court benefits the American public at least as much as it helps the school. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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