WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is suing Harvard University, claiming it has refused to provide admissions records requested by the Justice Department as part of an investigation into the legality of its affirmative action practices.
Filed in federal court in Massachusetts, the lawsuit alleges that Harvard has ‘thwarted’ efforts to monitor discrimination in its admissions process. The Justice Department requests that a judge compel the university to hand over critical data.
Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Civil Rights Division, stated that Harvard’s resistance is alarming, asserting, ‘If Harvard has stopped discriminating, it should readily provide the data necessary to demonstrate that.’
The case adds to the already tense relationship between President Trump and Harvard, which has been penalized with funding cuts for rejecting the administration's previous demands.
Trump officials have pointed to claims of anti-Jewish bias at the university, suggesting that noncompliance with federal expectations warrants the current lawsuit. Meanwhile, Harvard argues it is facing retaliation for dissenting against the administration’s ideological stances.
The Justice Department initiated a compliance review into Harvard’s admissions process last April, coinciding with the release of Trump's sweeping demands. Harvard has since declined to provide the requested records, including details about applicants' grades, test scores, and demographic data, leading to the current legal conflict.
This issue garners increased scrutiny following the Supreme Court’s 2023 prohibition of affirmative action in college admissions, which the Trump administration claims is still being practiced. The Justice Department seeks this data to ensure universities aren't circumventing the ruling.
In an earlier twist, Trump suggested that Harvard could restore federal funding through negotiations, but later demanded $1 billion, doubling previous financial expectations.
