Harvard University is moving for a decisive decision from a federal judge to unfreeze the around $2.5 billion in federal funds the Trump administration took away from the university.
On Monday, Harvard filed a request for summary judgment, which means the judge would make a decision without a full trial.
“The necessity of an injunction is demonstrated by the Government’s continued attempt to punish Harvard’s during the pendency of this case by whatever mechanisms it can,” the university’s lawyers wrote in the filing.
The next hearing for the case is set for July 21 and Harvard is asking for a summary judgment by Sept. 3, which is the deadline Harvard has from the federal government to liquidate some financial obligations from federal grants.
In the filing, the lawyers detailed the risk of cutting off funding to projects related to public health and national security concerns.
“The government’s rush to freeze and terminate billions of dollars in current and future federal funding to Harvard for critical research lacks the basic requisites of reasoned decision making,” Harvard’s lawyers wrote.
The White House has taken away funding after Harvard would not cater to demands such as changing its hiring and admissions process, as well as eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
The request to speed up the timeline in this case comes after Harvard won a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration in its lawsuit against the federal government’s attempt to block Harvard from admitting and keeping its foreign students.
The Trump administration has used various other tactics to go get Harvard to cave, such as threatening to revoke its tax-exempt status and launching multiple investigations into the university.
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