❓WHAT HAPPENED: A Barack Obama-appointed federal judge ordered the Trump administration to reverse over $2.6 billion in funding cuts to Harvard University, citing retaliation for the university’s rejection of governance and policy demands.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs, the Trump administration, and Harvard University.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The ruling was issued on Wednesday; the events involve federal funding cuts tied to Harvard’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
💬KEY QUOTE: “In fact, a review of the administrative record makes it difficult to conclude anything other than that [the government] used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this country’s premier universities.” – Judge Burroughs
🎯IMPACT: The ruling restores funding to Harvard and bars further retaliatory actions.
U.S. District Court Judge Allison Burroughs, appointed to the bench by former President Barack Obama, has ordered that the Trump administration must reverse over $2.6 billion in funding cuts to Harvard University. According to Judge Burroughs, the funding freeze was an act of retaliation against Harvard for rejecting changes the administration sought in the university’s governance and policies.
Notably, Burroughs has made rulings on a number of cases involving the Trump White House and Harvard, including the issuance of a temporary restraining order in May blocking the administration from revoking Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification, which would have barred them from enrolling foreign students. The judge’s latest determination follows a lawsuit filed by Harvard, which argued that the cuts violated its free speech rights under the First Amendment. Burroughs stated that the administration’s justification for the cuts, citing Harvard’s handling of anti-Semitism, was a “smokescreen” for an ideologically motivated attack.
The District Court Judge acknowledged that Harvard had been “plagued by antisemitism in recent years” and criticized the university for its slow response to the issue. However, she also insisted that Harvard has taken steps to address the problem and appears willing to continue improving its efforts.
Burroughs’s decision ensures that Harvard’s federal grants cannot be terminated for the time being, pending a possible appeal by the Trump administration. The ruling also bars President Donald J. Trump from withholding future funding in retaliation.
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