Brown Sues, Harvard Fights Back, and Trump Freezes $2 Billion

Brown Sues, Harvard Fights Back, and Trump Freezes $2 Billion

The Ivy League — once the very definition of stability and tradition — is now embroiled in a street fight with the Trump administration.

On Monday, Harvard announced that it was fighting demands by the Trump administration.

The university rejected demands from the Trump administration that threaten $9 billion in research funding, arguing that the changes pushed by the government exceed its lawful authority and infringe on both the university’s independence and its constitutional rights.

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“The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,” Harvard President Alan Garber wrote in a message to the community. He added: “No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”

Harvard's lawyers wrote to the Trump administration:

The government’s terms also circumvent Harvard’s statutory rights by requiring unsupported and disruptive remedies for alleged harms that the government has not proven through mandatory processes established by Congress and required by law.  No less objectionable is the condition, first made explicit in the letter of March 31, 2025, that Harvard accede to these terms or risk the loss of billions of dollars in federal funding critical to vital research and innovation that has saved and improved lives and allowed Harvard to play a central role in making our country’s scientific, medical, and other research communities the standard-bearers for the world. 

These demands extend not only to Harvard but to separately incorporated and independently operated medical and research hospitals engaging in life-saving work on behalf of their patients.  The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.  Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government.  Accordingly, Harvard will not accept the government’s terms as an agreement in principle. 

Hours after Harvard’s announcement, the Trump administration fired back and announced it was freezing $2 billion in government funds.

The Trump administration task force on antisemitism said late Monday that it will freeze $2.2 billion of multiyear grants in response to Harvard’s announcement.

The showdown will continue.

 

Brown Sues

In a separate action, Brown University announced it has joined a federal lawsuit challenging an action by the U.S. Department of Energy to limit indirect cost reimbursements to a 15% rate for the agency’s research grants to higher education institutions.

Brown is a named plaintiff in the suit, filed on Monday, April 14, by the Association of American Universities, the American Council on Education, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and eight other universities, in Massachusetts federal district court. The court action is the latest in a series of legal efforts by the University to block federal actions to dramatically cut funding to critical research.

“We will continue to take the action necessary to protect the essential funding that supports Brown research and our country’s need for innovative solutions to critical problems,” Brown University President Christina H. Paxson said. “The Department of Energy has moved to reduce funding in areas that are key to the nation’s current and future energy needs and security, as well as the technology and innovation required to maintain America’s global leadership.”

On April 3, it was announced that the Trump administration was looking to freeze $510 million in funding to Brown.

Brown University is facing the potential of losing hundreds of millions in federal funds.

The Trump administration announced last month that it was canceling $400,000,000 in federal grants to Columbia University. Other actions have been taken against Cornell, Princeton, and Penn.

Columbia and other schools are being targeted for allowing anti-semitism on campus.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) sent letters to 60 institutions of higher education, including Brown, warning them of potential enforcement actions if they do not fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus, including uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities. The letters are addressed to all U.S. universities that are presently under investigation for Title VI violations relating to antisemitic harassment and discrimination. 

“The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege, and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal anti-discrimination laws.”