Trump-Harvard feud escalates after Justice Department files lawsuit over alleged race bias in admissions

As part of stepping up pressure on Ivy League institutions, the Trump administration filed a lawsuit against Harvard University over federal funding to the school. The Department of Justice (DOJ) accused the university of failing to comply with a federal investigation by not providing sufficient documents to ascertain whether the elite school has illegally considered race in its admission process.

According to US Attorney General Pam Bondi, the data is required to ensure the admission process of Harvard remains free of discrimination, in accordance with the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that suspended the race-based affirmative actions. The DOJ further claimed that the university has not provided the applicant-level data requested nearly 10 months ago.

The development comes less than two weeks after the US President Donald Trump stated that the government is seeking $1 billion in damages from Haravard to to settle federal probes into the school's polices.

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Harvard hasn't issued any statement on the fresh lawsuit; it previously sued the administration over what it called ideologically motivated actions of the federal government and an illegal attempt to take control over academic decision-making.

The Ivy League institutions in the United States have been at odds with the federal government after President Trump took over White House for a second term after he accused Harvard of promoting woke culture and pro palestianian protestes against Israel's war against Gaza.

In a press release issued on Friday, the Justice Department said Harvard has "repeatedly slow-walked the pace of production and refused to produce pertinent data and documents," including admissions policies and correspondence related to banned diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

In April 2025, the Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in research grants to Harvard over the school failing to address harassment of Jewish students and the rise in anti-seminitm in campus. Trump's actions to stop federal funds for Harvard led to a fierce battle between the School and the administration. As of now, the two sides failed to reach any agreement.