Harvard, Trump administration clash in key court hearing

Harvard’s battle with the Trump administration over the future of the university reached a crescendo on Monday in a federal courtroom in Boston, as the Ivy League school argued the government had no basis to cut US$2.2 billion of research funding, report Brianna Abbott and Sara Randazzo for The Wall Street Journal.

“What we’re here for are our constitutional rights,” Steven Lehotsky, an attorney for Harvard, told a federal judge.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, insisted it has the power to cancel contracts with universities that no longer align with government priorities, in this case because of its determination that Harvard has tolerated antisemitism on its campus. In addition to cancelling federal research grants, Trump has threatened Harvard’s tax-exempt status, sought to remove its ability to enrol international students and probed its acceptance of foreign donations.
Full report on The Wall Street Journal site