Harvard University told a federal judge it’s eager to move quickly with its legal challenge to more than $2 billion in funding cuts by the Trump administration.
In a request for a scheduling conference filed late Wednesday, the university said it doesn’t plan to ask for a temporary order blocking the government’s actions, but will instead “expeditiously” pursue a final judgment on its central claim that the administration violated federal regulations for cutting funding.
How Harvard Is Fighting Trump’s Funding Freeze: QuickTake
Harvard filed its lawsuit Monday after the White House froze $2.2 billion in research grants on April 14 over the university’s refusal to overhaul governance, discipline, hiring and admissions policies inconsistent with the administration’s agenda. Harvard alleges the government threatened its independence and stifled free speech in freezing the funds.
Harvard is part of a group of elite universities that the Trump administration has tried to force into making policy changes by rescinding funding, revoking the visas of international students, and threatening to withdraw tax exemptions. The administration has framed its efforts as an initiative to fight campus antisemitism and enforce civil rights protections.
In Wednesday’s filing, the university said fast-tracking the suit is important because the stakes are high.
“Until set aside by this court, the freeze order, as well as the looming threat of additional cuts, chills Harvard’s exercise of its First Amendment rights and puts vital medical, scientific, technological, and other research at risk,” lawyers for Harvard wrote.
The attorneys told US District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston they will ask her to set deadlines for the government to produce records of its decision-making process that the university will use to make its case that the government violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy.
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