Trump administration files new lawsuit against Harvard in long-running funding battle

By Andy Rose, CNN

(CNN) — The Trump administration has fired another shot in its nearly year-long battle with Harvard University over federal funding to the institution, filing a new lawsuit Friday against the Ivy League school.

The Department of Justice claims Harvard has refused to provide documentation the government has requested in an investigation into whether the university discriminated against students in its admissions decisions, violating the terms of its government grants.

“Harvard has failed to disclose the data we need to ensure that its admissions are free of discrimination — we will continue fighting to put merit over DEI across America,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.

Harvard, meanwhile, “has been responding to the government’s inquiries in good faith and continues to be willing to engage with the government according to the process required by law,” it told CNN on Friday.

The larger dispute dates to February 2025, when Harvard was first notified in a letter the DOJ was “aware of allegations that your institution may have failed to protect Jewish students and faculty members from unlawful discrimination.”

The Trump administration froze billions of dollars in federal funding to Harvard, a decision that was overturned by a federal judge in two lawsuits filed by Harvard now being appealed by the government.

“The University will continue to defend itself against these retaliatory actions which have been initiated simply because Harvard refused to surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights in response to unlawful government overreach,” Harvard said in its Friday statement.

Administration demands more documents from Harvard

The Justice Department is demanding seven years’ worth of detailed information about all of the applicants to Harvard’s undergraduate programs, law school and medical school. The government’s request also includes information on race and gender, citizenship status and grades, along with how “Diversity, Equity, and/or Inclusion initiatives and programs” were used.

The lawsuit acknowledges Harvard has already turned over about 2,300 pages of documents in response to the request but says the school did not provide details on individual students as the government requested.

“It has slow-walked the pace of production and refused to provide pertinent documents relating to applicant-level admissions decisions,” the Trump administration says in its lawsuit.

The suit also notes the landmark 2023 Supreme Court decision, involving Harvard and the University of North Carolina, that ruled out the consideration of race in student admissions at most colleges and universities.

In recent years, Harvard has acknowledged problems with discrimination on campus, releasing lengthy task force reports on antisemitism and anti-Muslim bias.

But the Justice Department says it needs more proof showing the university is treating applications fairly.

“Providing requested data is a basic expectation of any credible compliance process, and refusal to cooperate creates concerns about university practices,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon in a statement. “If Harvard has stopped discriminating, it should happily share the data necessary to prove it.”

In its new lawsuit, the government does not ask for any damages at all, instead asking a judge to force the university to turn over more admissions documents.

Settlement talks have dragged for months

The ongoing legal battle with the White House has put Harvard under a cloud of financial uncertainty.

As other prominent universities, including Columbia and Brown, agreed to settlements putting an end to federal investigations and funding cuts, Harvard reported a $113 million operating deficit in its most recent fiscal year.

The new lawsuit follows President Donald Trump’s repeatedly assertions his administration was on the verge of an agreement with Harvard to settle the government’s discrimination claims.

But White House pledges that a deal would soon be completed have come and gone, reportedly over debates regarding Harvard’s academic freedom and whether any of the money would be paid directly to the government.

“We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University,” Trump wrote on February 2 after a New York Times report suggested the president would back down on a key demand for $200 million in cash.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

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