Trump administration files second lawsuit against Harvard, this time over antisemitism
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Trump administration files second lawsuit against Harvard, this time over antisemitism")
Photograph: (Wikimedia Commons)
The lawsuit, filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in the Federal District Court in Boston, alleges that Harvard has “turned a blind eye to rampant antisemitism and discrimination.”
The Trump administration filed a major lawsuit against Harvard University on Friday, March 20, 2026, accusing the elite institution of violating the civil rights of Jewish and Israeli students and faculty. This legal action marks a significant escalation in the White House’s ongoing campaign to overhaul the American higher education system in alignment with the President's "MAGA" agenda.
The lawsuit, filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in the Federal District Court in Boston, alleges that Harvard has "turned a blind eye to rampant antisemitism and discrimination."
“The United States cannot and will not tolerate these failures. We are bringing this action to compel Harvard to comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and to recover billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies previously awarded to a discriminatory institution,” the suit stated.
A pattern of legal pressure
This is the second time in two months that the administration has taken Harvard to court. In February 2026, the DOJ sued the university for failing to provide sufficient documentation for a federal investigation into whether the school is still illegally considering race in its admissions process, despite a prior Supreme Court ban on affirmative action.
Additionally, the administration is reportedly seeking $1 billion in damages from Harvard to settle various federal probes. This follows a similar lawsuit filed last month against the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) on nearly identical charges of fostering a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli members of the campus community.
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The relationship between the second Trump administration and Ivy League institutions has been adversarial, with President Trump repeatedly accusing Harvard and other Ivy League schools of promoting a “woke” culture and failing to curb pro-Palestinian protests.
This friction reached a critical point in September 2025, when a federal judge ruled in favour of Harvard University, effectively blocking a White House attempt to freeze over $2 billion in federal research funding.
At the time, the court suggested the administration might be using allegations of antisemitism as a "smokescreen" to force ideological changes.
The pressure intensified in February 2026 when the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched dual legal strikes, suing Harvard over its admissions records and targeting UCLA for its handling of campus antisemitism.
