Harvard University asks judge for fast ruling in US funding freeze lawsuit

Harvard University lawyers urged a US federal judge to rule immediately that the Trump administration’s freeze on US$2.2 billion (S$2.8 billion) in funding is illegal and that it violated the school’s free speech and regulatory rights.

In a court filing on June 2, Harvard argued that the US has not produced any evidence to show that the administration’s freeze was a legally justified response to address anti-Semitism and alleged liberal bias on campus.

The school asked US District Judge Allison Burroughs to rule more quickly than she might in a typical lawsuit to reinstate Harvard’s funding, a ruling also known as a summary judgment.

“The government’s rush to freeze and terminate billions of dollars in current and future federal funding to Harvard for critical research lacks the basic requisites of reasoned decision-making,” Harvard’s lawyers wrote in a filing in Boston federal court. 

As the richest and oldest US university, Harvard has become the main target of US President Donald Trump’s attempts to force schools to crack down on anti-Semitism, remove perceived political bias and eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programmes.

Mr Trump also wants to

cap Harvard’s foreign student enrolment at 15 per cent

, revoke its tax-exempt status and

cancel its remaining federal contracts

.

Judge Burroughs has temporarily blocked both the funding freeze and

a US bar on letting Harvard enrol international students

, which is the subject of a separate lawsuit. BLOOMBERG