"This case is about the government's attempt to, by holding back state grants, gain control over academic decision-making at Harvard", the university writes in the lawsuit.
Harvard has, unlike several other educational institutions, said no to the White House's demands for reforms aimed at getting American top universities to conform to the government's policy.
The Trump administration is demanding, among other things, that schools stop investing in diversity, justice, and inclusion programs – so-called DEI programs – and ban masking during demonstrations on university campuses.
Harvard: No Anti-Semitism
The White House has publicly motivated the campaign as a reaction to the "uncontrolled anti-Semitism" they claim is growing on universities, following the noted protests against Israel's war in Gaza that took place on several campuses last year.
In its lawsuit, Harvard emphasizes that the university rejects anti-Semitism and discrimination and actively works against it.
"But instead of engaging with Harvard in these ongoing efforts, the government announced a freeze on funding for medical, scientific, technical, and other research that has nothing to do with anti-Semitism", the university writes.
The White House: Privilege
Harvard, which in the lawsuit calls Trump's actions "arbitrary and capricious", wants the court to rule that the freeze on grants is illegal.
A spokesperson for the White House accuses Harvard of "enriching its grossly overpaid bureaucrats with taxpayer money from struggling American families", and writes that it is now over.
"Taxpayer funding is a privilege, and Harvard fails to meet the basic conditions required to access that privilege", writes spokesperson Harrison Fields in an email to the AP news agency.
