Why a judge just rejected Trump’s latest legal attack on Harvard

The Trump administration has suffered another setback in its escalating battle with Harvard University after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing the Ivy League school of failing to protect Jewish students from harassment.

US District Judge Richard G. Stearns ruled Thursday that the government had not shown that Harvard was engaged in an ongoing violation of federal civil rights law. The decision adds to a string of legal disputes between the Trump administration and one of the country’s most prestigious universities.

Judge says govt failed to show a continuing violation

The lawsuit, filed by the Trump administration in March, centered on allegations that Harvard failed to respond adequately to incidents involving Jewish students during pro-Palestinian protests.


But Stearns found that the incidents cited by the government were not enough to establish a persistent civil rights violation. Most of the examples involved the 2023-24 academic year, while only a small number dated to March 2025.

The judge described the incidents as “too isolated and episodic” to demonstrate the continuing violation required for the government's case.

That finding became central to the dismissal and undercut the administration's effort to use federal civil rights law as the basis for recovering Harvard's government funding.

Billions in research grants were at stake

The lawsuit sought to recover billions of dollars in federal research grants awarded to Harvard since October 2023.

Trump administration officials argued that Harvard could be forced to return the money under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race or national origin in programs receiving federal assistance.

The government alleged that Jewish students had been harassed, assaulted, stalked and spat upon during campus demonstrations that followed Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Harvard has rejected accusations that it ignored antisemitism. The university has said it remains committed to protecting Jewish and Israeli members of its community and has taken steps to strengthen its anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies.

Harvard and Trump have been locked in a wider fight

The lawsuit was only one part of a much broader confrontation between the White House and Harvard.

After President Donald Trump returned to office, his administration issued a series of demands to the university. Harvard's refusal to comply triggered a campaign targeting areas including federal research funding and the university's ability to enroll foreign students and members of the US military.

The administration has argued that Harvard failed to address antisemitism and other concerns on campus, while the university has challenged the government's actions in court.

Earlier ruling also went against Trump administration

The latest decision follows another major legal setback for the White House.

In a separate case last year, a federal judge ordered the administration to restore more than $2.6 billion in federal funding that had been cut from Harvard.

That ruling concluded that the government had imposed unconstitutional conditions on federal funding and characterized the use of antisemitism allegations as a “smokescreen” for an ideologically driven campaign against universities.

The latest dismissal does not end the broader confrontation between Harvard and the Trump administration, but it represents another important court victory for the university as the fight over federal funding, campus policies and government oversight continues.