A federal judge in Boston has dismissed the Trump administration’s multi-billion-dollar lawsuit against Harvard University, which alleged the school failed to protect its Jewish students from discrimination. The lawsuit was filed in March and sought to halt $2.6 billion in existing federal grants, as well as require Harvard to pay back millions in grant payments.

Background of the Case

The Trump administration had argued that Harvard breached its contract with the federal government under Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in programs that receive federal funding. The administration pointed to incidents of antisemitism on campus, including many in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

However, US District Judge Richard G. Stearns, a Clinton appointee, wrote in a Thursday ruling that the Trump administration had highlighted a handful of concerning incidents on Harvard’s campus, but they were ‘too isolated and episodic’ to justify the government’s claim that Harvard was in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, said the administration disagrees with the ruling and is assessing next steps. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has an extensive and active portfolio of antisemitism enforcement, including indictments, prosecutions, settlements, and investigations across the country.

Harvard’s Response

Harvard pushed back in another filing, accusing the administration officials of ignoring its ‘extensive efforts’ to address known issues on campus in the wake of October 7, 2023. The university has engaged in sustained, institution-wide efforts to identify and address antisemitism on campus, which were documented in a 300-page report issued by Harvard’s Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias.

Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.