Court Orders Grants Restored
A Massachusetts federal judge has struck down the Trump administration’s move to eliminate more than $2.2 billion in federal research support for Harvard University. Judge Allison Burroughs issued the decision on September 3, requiring that the funds be reinstated and forbidding officials from cutting them off again. The frozen grants had placed crucial projects in science, health, and engineering at risk since the spring.
Judge Points to Improper Interference
In her 84-page ruling, Burroughs determined that the government’s action breached constitutional protections and administrative law. She found that the decision was politically motivated, tied to disputes over antisemitism investigations on campus, and not based on legitimate funding considerations. The opinion stated that federal research programs cannot be manipulated as instruments of political pressure.
Implications for Harvard and Beyond
Harvard welcomed the ruling, emphasizing the importance of the restored funding to ongoing research and to the university community. The Justice Department has not yet revealed whether it will appeal the case to the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation are expected to restart grant disbursements, though the schedule is not yet confirmed. The judgment represents a major legal defeat for the Trump administration’s attempts to leverage federal dollars against higher education institutions.
