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Judge Demands Trump Administration Justify $2.6 Billion Harvard Funding Cuts

The decision could set new limits on federal power to condition university funding under antisemitism policy

Protestors gather outside the Moakley Federal Courthouse, where Harvard University appeared to challenge $2.6 billion in funding cuts by the Trump administration, Monday, July 21, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
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Overview

  • At a July 21 hearing, Judge Allison Burroughs challenged government lawyers to provide evidence linking alleged campus antisemitism to the suspension of $2.6 billion in research grants.
  • Harvard argues the funding cuts amount to unconstitutional retaliation that infringes on its First Amendment rights and exceeds executive authority.
  • Since May, the Education Department and other federal agencies have frozen new awards and canceled existing contracts across diverse fields from cancer studies to national security research.
  • University officials have begun self-funding critical projects but warn the endowment cannot fully cover the shortfall without risking lab closures and career losses.
  • With Burroughs’s ruling still pending, Harvard continues to press for full restoration of its grants as legal scrutiny intensifies over federal oversight of academic freedom.