The decision is a victory for the Ivy League university, which has been locked in a months-long feud with Trump.Published On 3 Sep 20253 Sep 2025A United States federal judge has ruled that the administration of President Donald Trump violated the law when it cancelled research grants worth more than $2.2bn to Harvard University.The Wednesday decision from District Judge Allison Burroughs is a major setback for the Trump administration, which has sought to pressure universities into compliance with policies opposing pro-Palestine protests and diversity initiatives.In her order, Burroughs explained that the funding cuts ran afoul of the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects free speech.“The Court vacates and sets aside the Freeze Orders and Termination Letters as violative of the First Amendment,” the order states.“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.”Burroughs also rejected the Trump administration’s claims that withholding Harvard’s grants was necessary to force the university to confront campus anti-Semitism. Rather, she pointed to ulterior motives.“A review of the administrative record makes it difficult to conclude anything other than that Defendants used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically motivated assault on this country’s premier universities,” Burroughs wrote.Trump’s threats against Harvard have been at the centre of his administration’s efforts to exert greater control over higher education. But critics denounced those moves as attacks on academic freedom and freedom of expression.Other prestigious US un …
