A US judge raised questions Monday over the legality of the Donald Trump administration’s cuts to Harvard University’s research funding.
During a hearing, the university argued the funding freeze is unconstitutional, while the White House contended the school has allowed antisemitism to fester on its campus. While the judge is yet to issue a ruling, she pushed back on the administration’s claims that concerns around antisemitism justified the cuts.
Trump has made Harvard central to his effort to reshape American higher education; his administration also recently served subpoenas to the Ivy League school for records on international students. Trump-style populists have long “thrilled at the prospect of humbling elite universities,” The Atlantic wrote in a recent profile of Harvard’s president.