DOJ Sued Harvard Over Antisemitism, Demanding Billions Back and a Federal Monitor

The Justice Department filed suit against Harvard University in federal court in Massachusetts, accusing the Ivy League institution of remaining "deliberately indifferent" to antisemitic and anti-Israeli conduct in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 attacks and demanding the return of billions in federal research funding.

The 44-page complaint, filed March 20, 2025, alleges Harvard violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in federally funded programs, by failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students from harassment on campus. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns, a Clinton appointee and Harvard Law School alumnus.

"The United States cannot and will not tolerate these failures," the Justice Department wrote in the lawsuit, framing the action as a bid to "recover billions of dollars of taxpayer subsidies awarded to a discriminatory institution."

The complaint's requested remedies go well beyond the typical civil-rights enforcement playbook. DOJ asked the court to freeze Harvard's existing federal grants, seek repayment for grants already disbursed, and appoint an independent outside monitor, approved by the government, to ensure the university complies with court orders. In a particularly striking request, the complaint also asks a judge to require Harvard to call police to arrest protesters blocking parts of campus.

DOJ alleged Harvard failed to discipline staff or students who protested or tacitly endorsed demonstrations, citing examples such as the cancellation or dismissal of classes that conflicted with protests.

White House press secretary Liz Huston amplified the filing on X, writing that Harvard "has failed to protect its Jewish students from harassment and has allowed discrimination to wreak havoc on its campus," adding that "President Trump is committed to ensuring every student can pursue their academic goals in a safe environment."

Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit is the second the Trump administration has filed against Harvard in as many months, and it lands amid a protracted legal war between the government and the university. Since taking office, Trump had already slashed more than $2.6 billion in Harvard's research funding, terminated federal contracts, and attempted to bar Harvard from hosting international students. Harvard sued in response, arguing it was being unfairly penalized for refusing to adopt the administration's political positions.

A federal judge previously reversed the government's funding cuts, with one ruling describing the administration's antisemitism rationale as a "smokescreen." Harvard won a separate key ruling that restored more than $2.7 billion in federal funding after a judge found the earlier cuts unconstitutional; that decision remains under appeal.

The new complaint invites a fresh round of constitutional questions about how far the federal government can reach into university governance, from dictating disciplinary standards to mandating protest policing, under the lever of civil-rights funding law. With the prior ruling still on appeal and a second suit now in the pipeline, the legal confrontation between Washington and Cambridge shows no sign of narrowing.