The Trump administration filed a federal lawsuit against Harvard University on Friday, alleging the school violated federal civil rights laws by failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack.
The lawsuit claims that Harvard’s actions created a hostile educational environment for these students and was an example of “intentional conduct and deliberate indifference” toward discriminatory harassment on campus.
The Allegations
In the 44-page lawsuit, the U.S. Department of Justice accuses Harvard of not addressing the harassment faced by Jewish and Israeli students after the terror attack, despite being aware of the situation.
The Justice Department claims the university allowed “severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive harassment” to continue, particularly during campus protests against Israel, based on the race or national origin of the students.
The government argues that Harvard failed to enforce its own anti-discrimination and anti-harassment rules in cases involving Jewish and Israeli students, while applying these rules to other groups.
“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,” the lawsuit states.
The Trump Administration’s Legal Efforts
This lawsuit marks the latest chapter in a broader legal and political conflict between the Trump administration and Harvard University. Since returning to office, President Trump’s administration has sought to cancel billions of dollars in federal funding to Harvard, citing the school’s alleged failure to address antisemitism on campus.
This effort has been met with legal challenges, including a lawsuit by Harvard against the Trump administration over the freeze of nearly $2 billion in federal grants. A federal judge ruled in September that the Trump administration violated Harvard’s First Amendment rights and federal law by withholding funding.
In addition to efforts to cut federal funding, President Trump has also pushed for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status and attempted to bar most international students from traveling to the U.S. to study at the university, though the latter was blocked by a judge.
Harvard’s Response
In response to the lawsuit, a Harvard spokesperson stated that the university has taken “substantive, proactive steps” to address antisemitism and enforces anti-harassment policies on campus.
“We will continue to prioritize this important work and will defend the University against this lawsuit, which represents yet another pretextual and retaliatory action by the administration for refusing to turn over control of Harvard to the federal government,” the spokesperson said.
Harvard officials also emphasized their commitment to addressing the root causes of antisemitism while defending their handling of harassment and discrimination on campus.
Investigation and Potential Consequences
The Trump administration’s lawsuit comes after a year-long investigation into Harvard’s compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin at institutions receiving federal funding.
The Justice Department determined in June 2025 that Harvard violated Title VI through its treatment of Jewish and Israeli students and warned that failure to enact certain changes could result in a loss of federal funding.
Harvard is set to receive over $2.6 billion in federal grants from the Department of Health and Human Services in the coming years, according to the Justice Department.
The administration has insisted that its legal actions are intended to hold the university accountable for what it views as its failure to protect Jewish students from discriminatory harassment.
Broader Tensions Over Antisemitism and Harvard’s Policies
The Trump administration’s legal actions against Harvard are part of a broader pattern of tensions regarding the university’s stance on antisemitism and other policies.
Harvard has faced scrutiny over its admissions and hiring practices as well, with critics arguing that the university’s actions have not gone far enough in addressing these issues.
