(NewsNation) — Harvard University is preparing for a high-stakes hearing Monday as a federal judge in Boston hears arguments in the school’s battle to retain billions of dollars in federal funding.
Harvard filed a lawsuit following a freeze of more than $2.2 billion in federal research funding. The White House has threatened to withhold the funds unless the school complies with the Trump administration’s controversial demands.
Harvard’s attorneys are expected to discuss a schedule during the hearing, aiming for a swift resolution.
Harvard University President Alan M. Garber has called the potential funding freeze “government overreach,” warning it could jeopardize life-saving research, including projects focused on childhood cancer.
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Harvard rejects Trump’s demands
The Trump administration is looking to limit what it has deemed violent and antisemitic activism on college campuses nationwide.
It has demanded new conditions for continued funding for Harvard, including reviewing academic departments, changing admissions policies and banning face masks, which are often worn during campus protests.
Harvard has said it would defy the Trump administration’s demands to limit activism on campus, arguing they violate free speech.
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Trump: Harvard is an ‘antisemitic’ institution
Last week, President Donald Trump continued his threats against the university, labeling it a “threat to democracy” on social media.
“Harvard is an Anti-Semitic, Far Left Institution, as are numerous others, with students being accepted from all over the World that want to rip our Country apart,” Trump wrote.
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Massachusetts District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama and previously upheld Harvard’s race-conscious admissions policies in 2019, is set to preside over the case, according to the Harvard Crimson.
During her decade as a U.S. district court judge, Burroughs has repeatedly overseen high-profile litigation involving Harvard, the outlet reported.
