Trump administration sues Harvard over alleged failure to protect Jewish and Israeli students, seeks billions

The Trump administration filed a lawsuit Friday against Harvard University, alleging that it failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students by essentially enabling antisemitism on campus in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel by Hamas. 

The 44-page lawsuit, filed in Massachusetts, is the latest in an ongoing battle between the White House and the Ivy League school. The complaint alleges that Harvard has tolerated antisemitic mobs comprised of students, faculty members and visitors opposed to Israel and has acted with indifference by selectively enforcing its campus rules to permit the continuation of the harassment.

"Harvard University has failed to protect its Jewish students from harassment and has allowed discrimination to wreak havoc on its campus," a White House spokesperson told Fox News. "President Trump is committed to ensuring every student can pursue their academic goals in a safe environment."

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The administration is seeking to recover billions of taxpayer dollars given to the elite university by federal agencies. 

"Since October 7, 2023, too many of our educational institutions have allowed antisemitism to flourish on campus – Harvard included," said Attorney General Pam Bondi. "Today’s litigation underscores the Trump administration’s commitment to demanding better from our nation’s schools and putting an end to discriminatory behavior that harms students."

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a Harvard spokesperson said the university "cares deeply" about its Jewish and Israeli students and remains committed to making sure they are embraced and respected.  

"Our actions illustrate this. Harvard has taken substantive, proactive steps to address the root causes of antisemitism and actively enforces anti-harassment and anti-discrimination rules and policies on campus," the statement said. "We also have enhanced training and education on antisemitism for students, faculty, and staff and launched programs to promote civil dialogue and respectful disagreement inside and outside the classroom. Harvard’s efforts demonstrate the very opposite of deliberate indifference."

The school said it will continue to prioritize such work and defend itself, calling the lawsuit "yet another pretextual and retaliatory action by the administration for refusing to turn over control of Harvard to the federal government."

Friday's lawsuit is another in the protracted battle between Havard and President Donald Trump. In June, the administration said a civil rights investigation had led to a formal finding that Harvard tolerated antisemitism.

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"Harvard remained deliberately indifferent to a level of hostility on its campus so well-known across the nation that members of Congress were writing about it," government lawyers wrote. "Harvard also intentionally refused to enforce its campus rules — rules it enforced against others — when the victims were Jews or Israelis. This sent the clear message to Harvard's Jewish and Israeli community that the indifference was not an accident; they were being intentionally excluded and effectively denied equal access to educational opportunities."

Last year, the school sued the Trump administration over the freezing of federal funds. A judge blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to freeze Harvard’s federal funds.

The Internal Revenue Service was also considering stripping Harvard of its tax-exempt status.

Harvard is slated to receive more than $2.6 billion from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Justice Department said. 

In February, the Trump administration said it was seeking to recover $1 billion in damages from Harvard, the main target in its attempt to leverage federal funding in order to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses. 

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HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said institutions that take taxpayer funds are obligated to protect civil rights. 

"We hold Harvard accountable on the principle that antisemitism has no place in any program funded by the American people," he said.