This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . The next check for changes will be

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4grwkyxgjwo

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Harvard University sues Trump administration Harvard University sues Trump administration over funding freeze
(about 8 hours later)
Harvard University filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration to stop billions of dollars in proposed cuts. Watch: 'It's not right' - Students react to Trump freezing Harvard's federal funding
The suit filed Monday is part of a feud that escalated last week when the elite institution rejected a list of demands that the Trump administration said was designed to curb diversity initiatives and fight anti-semitism at the school. Harvard University has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration claiming that its freezing of federal grants worth billions of dollars is unlawful.
President Donald Trump froze $2.2bn (£1.7bn) of federal funding and also threatened the university's tax-exempt status. Its president, Alan M Garber, announced the action on Monday in a letter to the university community which said the $2bn funding freeze would hamper critical disease research.
"The consequences of the government's overreach will be severe and long-lasting," Harvard's president Alan M. Garber said in a letter to the university on Monday. Harvard, the world's richest university, last week rejected a list of demands that the Trump administration said was designed to curb diversity initiatives and fight anti-semitism at the school.
In response to the lawsuit, the White House said the "gravy train of federal assistance" was coming to an end.
The White House responded later Monday night in a statement. Funding cuts have also been implemented at other elite universities, and a new government anti-semitism task force has identified at least 60 universities for review.
"The gravy train of federal assistance to institutions like Harvard, which enrich their grossly overpaid bureaucrats with tax dollars from struggling American families is coming to an end. Taxpayer funds are a privilege, and Harvard fails to meet the basic conditions required to access that privilege", said White House spokesman Harrison Fields. President Donald Trump has accused universities of failing to protect Jewish students during last year's campus protests against the war in Gaza and US support for Israel.
Mr Garber said the funding freeze affected critical research including studies on pediatric cancer, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Harvard has stood up to Trump. How long can it last?
"In recent weeks, the federal Government has launched a broad attack on the critical funding partnerships that make this invaluable research possible," the school's lawsuit said. In Monday's letter, Mr Garber said: "The consequences of the government's overreach will be severe and long-lasting."
"This case involves the Government's efforts to use the withholding of federal funding as leverage to gain control of academic decisionmaking at Harvard." Studies on pediatric cancer, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease would be affected, he wrote.
Aside from funding, the Trump administration days ago also threatened Harvard's ability to enroll international students. "In recent weeks, the federal government has launched a broad attack on the critical funding partnerships that make this invaluable research possible," the school's lawsuit said.
Mr Garber, who is Jewish, acknowledged Harvard's campus has had issues with anti-semitism but said he had established task forces to work with the problem. He said the university would release the report of two task forces that looked into anti-semitism and anti-Muslim bias. It said the withholding of federal funding violated Harvard's constitutional rights and was being used as "leverage to gain control of academic decisionmaking at Harvard".
The prominent US university, located in Massachusetts, is not the only institution faced with withholding of federal dollars, which play an outsized role in funding new scientific breakthroughs. The Trump administration has signalled that another $1bn of federal funding could be suspended. Harvard receives about $9bn in total annually, which is mostly spent on research.
The administration has targeted other private Ivy League institutions including suspending $1bn at Cornell University and $510 million at Brown University. Harvard's tax exemption status and its ability to enroll international students could also be under threat.
Mr Garber, who is Jewish, acknowledged Harvard's campus, located in Massachusetts, has had issues with anti-semitism but said he had established task forces aimed at the problem.
He said the university would release the report of two task forces that looked into anti-semitism and anti-Muslim bias.
Separately, the Trump administration has targeted other private Ivy League institutions including suspending $1bn at Cornell University and $510 million at Brown University. Federal dollars also play an outsized role there in funding new scientific breakthroughs.
Others such as Columbia University, the epicentre of pro-Palestinian campus protests last year, have agreed to some demands after $400 million of federal funds was threatened.Others such as Columbia University, the epicentre of pro-Palestinian campus protests last year, have agreed to some demands after $400 million of federal funds was threatened.
The demands to Harvard included agreeing to government-approved external audits of the university's curriculum as well as hiring and admission data. In response, Harvard released a blistering letter rejecting them. The demands to Harvard included agreeing to government-approved external audits of the university's curriculum as well as hiring and admission data.
"The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights," Harvard's lawyers told the administration on April 14. In response, Harvard released a blistering letter rejecting what it described as a "takeover" by the federal government.
"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." Former US President Barack Obama, a Harvard alum, has said he supported the university, calling the cash freeze unlawful.
Former US President Barack Obama, a Harvard alum, said he supported the university. The White House responded Monday night in a statement.
"The gravy train of federal assistance to institutions like Harvard, which enrich their grossly overpaid bureaucrats with tax dollars from struggling American families is coming to an end.
"Taxpayer funds are a privilege, and Harvard fails to meet the basic conditions required to access that privilege."
Polling by Gallup last summer suggested that confidence in higher education had been falling over time among Americans of all political backgrounds.
That was partly driven, the survey said, by a growing belief that universities push a political agenda. The decline was particularly steep among Republicans.
Follow the twists and turns of Trump's second term with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher's weekly US Politics Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.