Harvard sues the Trump administration. 100 more universities rally against the president

Harvard University has filed suit against the Trump administration in response to what it calls a "campaign of intimidation" aimed at undermining its academic autonomy. This was reported by the New York Times. At the centre of the clash is a package of measures that include the blocking of billions of dollars in federal funds for scientific research and the government's demand to exercise direct control over programmes, lecturers and students.

Meanwhile, more than 100 US colleges and universities, including prestigious Ivy League institutions such as Princeton and Brown, issued a joint letter in which they condemn President Donald Trump's "political interference" in the education system. "We speak with one voice against the unprecedented government intervention and political interference that is endangering American higher education," the letter reads.

The lawsuit filed by Harvard, filed in Massachusetts, denounces anattempt at 'political appropriation' of the university system through instrumental accusations of anti-Semitism and demands deemed unconstitutional, such as the review of diversity and gender-related programmes and the appointment of an external supervisor with powers over academic decisions.

Alan Garber, president of the university, called the pressure 'a direct attack on teaching freedom' and accused the government of wanting to decide 'who to hire and what to teach'. The TH Chan School of Public Health, which receives almost half of its budget from public funds, has already been forced to scale back projects.

The US administration justified the measures by stating that Harvard does not guarantee adequate conditions for accessing taxpayer funds and that it has allowed the dissemination of anti-Semitic content. But the university's response is clear: the government has allegedly used the accusations as a pretext to target the entire higher education system.