WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors launched fresh legal action Friday against Harvard University, alleging the institution’s administrators inadequately responded to antisemitism problems on campus, providing justification for halting current funding and demanding repayment of previously distributed grants.
The legal filing, submitted to a Massachusetts federal courthouse, represents the latest development in an extended conflict between President Donald Trump’s administration and the prestigious academic institution.
“The United States cannot and will not tolerate these failures and brings this action to compel Harvard to comply” with federal civil rights law, Justice Department officials stated in their court filing, “and to recover billions of dollars of taxpayer subsidies awarded to a discriminatory institution.”
Harvard representatives have not yet provided a response to requests for comment.
This legal move follows what appears to be stalled negotiations in the extended dispute with the Trump administration that has pushed the limits of federal oversight over American higher education institutions. What initially started as a probe into campus antisemitism has grown into a comprehensive conflict as the Trump administration cut over $2.6 billion in research dollars, terminated federal agreements and tried to prevent Harvard from welcoming international students.
Through two separate court cases initiated by the institution, Harvard has argued it faces unfair punishment for declining to embrace the administration’s positions. A federal judge sided with the university in December, overturning the funding reductions and describing the antisemitism claims as a “smokescreen.”
Multiple reports have suggested the opposing parties have come close to reaching a settlement. During the previous year, the administration and university were said to be nearing an arrangement requiring Harvard to pay $500 million to restore federal funding access and conclude the investigations. Nearly twelve months later, Trump increased that amount to $1 billion, stating that Harvard has been “behaving very badly.”
Throughout his presidency, Trump has focused on elite academic institutions he views as dominated by progressive politics and antisemitism, suspending billions in research funding.
