Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 20

Judge Dismisses Trump's $2 Billion Harvard Antisemitism Case, Citing No Ongoing Civil Rights Pattern

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 20

Judge Dismisses Trump's $2 Billion Harvard Antisemitism Case, Citing No Ongoing Civil Rights Pattern

Q: What happens to the frozen $2 billion in research grants now that the court has ruled?

The dismissal of the antisemitism lawsuit does not by itself decide the fate of the frozen research money. That ruling was narrow: it said the government had not shown an ongoing Title VI violation at Harvard, but it did not order the $2 billion-plus in grants restored. The funding question is being handled in a separate case. In that case, a federal judge previously vacated the administration’s freezes and terminations of roughly $2.2 billion in Harvard research funding, finding them unlawful and retaliatory, and most of the funding was restored after that ruling. The government has appealed that decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, so the longer-term status of the money still depends on that appeal. In practical terms, Harvard is in a stronger position because the latest dismissal undercuts one of the government’s main legal theories tied to antisemitism enforcement. But unless the appeals court finally resolves the separate funding case, the dispute over those grants is not fully over. So, for now, the best reading is that the dismissed lawsuit does not automatically unfreeze or re-freeze the money. The operative ruling on the grants remains the separate funding case, where the lower court ordered the freezes undone and the government is still trying to reverse that result on appeal.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 20

A federal judge threw out the Trump administration’s antisemitism lawsuit against Harvard, finding the cited campus incidents did not establish an ongoing civil-rights violation.
The ruling said alleged misconduct after official warnings failed to show a continuing pattern severe enough to sustain the government’s case.
Justice Department officials said they strongly disagree with the decision and are reviewing whether to appeal.
The dismissal lands after the administration had already frozen more than $2 billion in Harvard grants and contracts when the university refused federal demands tied to antisemitism.