Harvard sues Trump amid funding freeze. Here's how the administration targeted the Ivy League and other universities.

Harvard announced Monday that it has sued the Trump administration over freezing $8.9 billion worth of federal contracts and grants after the university rejected a list of Trump's demands.

The lawsuit, which Harvard said it had filed in federal court in Massachusetts, was brought against a long list of executive agency officials and Trump appointees, including Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

The lawsuit said that the funding freeze would impact ongoing research that develops "novel drugs to fight Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, engineer nanofibers to protect servicemembers and first responders, support American astronauts in space, and design an artificial intelligence system that can be used to diagnose and treat cancer."

"If the agency determines that voluntary compliance is not possible, then it must initiate formal proceedings, specifically a hearing, and must make express findings on the record before terminating or refusing to grant or to continue federal financial assistance," the lawsuit added.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced on March 31 that it was conducting a review of $8.9 billion worth of federal contracts and grants.

The Trump administration accused the university of failing to protect its Jewish student body and promoting "divisive ideologies over free inquiry."

The review is to "ensure the university is in compliance with federal regulations, including its civil rights responsibilities," according to a statement from the Department of Education."

When the review was announced, Harvard University President Alan M. Garber said in a statement that the school would "engage with members of the federal government's task force to combat antisemitism."

Then, on April 14, the university said it was rejecting Trump's demands, which included cutting its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and restricting acceptance of international students who are "hostile to the American values and institutions."

"No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue," Garber wrote in a letter.

On the same day Harvard said it rejected Trump's demands, the Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in contract value.

"Harvard's statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation's most prestigious universities and colleges — that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws," the administration's task force to combat antisemitism wrote.

Two days later, on April 16, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the department had rescinded $2.7 million more in grant money from Harvard.

In the same letter, Noem demanded information on Harvard's foreign student visa holders and threatened to suspend the school's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification.

On Monday, Harrison Fields, the White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary, said in a statement to BI that "the gravy train of federal assistance to institutions like Harvard, which enrich their grossly overpaid bureaucrats with tax dollars" is ending, because "taxpayer funds are a privilege, and Harvard fails to meet the basic conditions required to access that privilege."

Columbia University was the first Ivy League school the Trump administration targeted over concerns of anti-semitism on university campuses.

The administration announced in a statement that it was canceling about $400 million in federal contracts and grants to Columbia.

The university responded to the funding cuts on March 20 with a list of nine proposals that entailed increasing campus security and stronger enforcement of disciplinary actions, among other actions.

Columbia's interim president, Katrina Armstrong, resigned after the university announced its concessions.

Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber said in an announcement that dozens of research grants, including those administered by the Department of Energy, NASA, and the Defense Department, were suspended.

The university leader said in a statement that the "full rationale" of the move was unclear but added that the school was "committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination."

Prior to the announcement, Eisgruber penned an essay in The Atlantic saying the Trump administration's targeting of universities presents "the greatest threat to American universities since the Red Scare of the 1950s."

Johns Hopkins said it would get rid of more than 2,200 jobs as a result of the Trump administration's move to eliminate the US Agency for International Development.

Part of the funding was directed toward work focused on preventing the spread of HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis, the university said in a statement.

"Over more than five decades, our colleagues have brought the benefits of research, discovery, and clinical care to mothers, children, and families at home and around the world, from Nepal to Nigeria, from the Western highlands of Guatemala to our hometown of Baltimore," university president Ron Daniels said.

The University of Michigan leaders eliminated its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and other related programs.

University leaders said in a statement that the moves come as "federal actions against DEI programming have intensified."

"These decisions have not been made lightly," the statement said. "We recognize the changes are significant and will be challenging for many of us, especially those whose lives and careers have been enriched by and dedicated to programs that are now pivoting."

The school said it would redirect funding towards other "student-facing programs," including financial aid for lower-income families and mental health services.

The Trump Administration suspended $175 million in federal contracts from the University of Pennsylvania, citing the participation of a transgender athlete, Lia Thomas, on the women's swimming team in 2022.

"These contracts include research on preventing hospital-acquired infections, drug screening against deadly viruses, quantum computing, protections against chemical warfare, and student loan programs," the university's president, J. Larry Jameson, wrote in a statement at the end of March.

"These stop work orders are in addition to several federal grants that have been cancelled recently, and the slowing down of the award of grants going forward," Jameson went on. "We are actively pursuing multiple avenues to understand and address these funding terminations, freezes, and slowdowns."

The Trump administration plans to block $510 million in federal contracts and grants for Brown University, citing concerns over antisemitism on campus, a source with knowledge of the issue in the White House confirmed to Business Insider.

If enforced, the funding halt could significantly impact Brown, which received about $184 million in federal grants and contracts in the 2024 fiscal year.

Brown's provost, Frank Doyle, acknowledged "troubling rumors" about federal action on research grants in an email to campus leaders but said there was no confirmation. The Daily Caller was the first to report the pause.

Brown University responded with Doyle's email to campus leaders and did not offer further information.

The Trump administration paused $1 billion in federal funding to Cornell University over potential civil rights violations, The New York Times first reported on April 8.

Cornell officials, including President Michael I. Kotlikoff, said in a statement the same day that the university had received 75 stop-work orders from the Department of Defense. The statement said the orders impacted research into new materials for jet engines, space and satellite communications, and cancer research, among other things, calling it "work of significance for our national defense, the competitiveness of our economy, and the health of our citizens."

"We are actively seeking information from federal officials to learn more about the basis for these decisions," the statement said, adding, "We are committed to working with our federal partners to continue the contributions made by our scientists and scholars."

The White House confirmed the pause.

The Trump administration paused $790 million in federal funding to Northwestern University over potential civil rights violations as well, The New York Times first reported on April 8.

Northwestern officials said in a statement that day they found out about the finding freeze through the media and that the university had not been notified by the government.

"We are working closely with members of our Board, deans, and our administration to assess the impact of these actions. We will continue to keep both affected individuals and the broader community informed as the implications of these actions become clearer," the statement said.

The White House confirmed the freeze.