US Judge Rules Trump's Cancellation of Harvard Grants Illegal

SadaNews - A federal judge in the United States has ruled that President Donald Trump’s administration illegally canceled nearly $2.2 billion in financial grants designated for Harvard University.

The ruling also emphasized that the administration is no longer authorized to reduce funding for research at the prestigious university, which is part of the "Ivy League" comprising some of the most renowned universities in America.

The decision issued by Allison Burroughs, a U.S. District Court judge in Boston, marks a significant legal victory for Harvard University as it seeks to reach an agreement that may end the multifaceted conflict between the White House and the country’s oldest and wealthiest universities.

The elite university, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been targeted by a broad campaign from the Trump administration to leverage federal funding to impose changes on American universities that Trump claims are dominated by anti-Semitic ideas and "radical leftism."

Three other Ivy League universities have reached agreements with the U.S. administration, including Columbia University, which in July agreed to pay $220 million to restore federal research funds that were canceled due to accusations that the university allowed anti-Semitism to escalate on campus.

The Trump administration took action against Harvard in response to pro-Palestinian protests that swept its campus and other universities following the outbreak of the Israeli war on Gaza nearly two years ago.

Harvard stated that it has taken steps to ensure that the campus is welcoming to Jewish and Israeli students, acknowledging that they have faced "brutal and abhorrent" treatment.

One of the first actions taken by the U.S. administration against Harvard was the cancellation of grants, and it also sought to prevent foreign students from enrolling at the university.