logo
Judge questions legality of Trump administration's US$2 billion Harvard fund freeze

Judge questions legality of Trump administration's US$2 billion Harvard fund freeze

Straits Times7 days ago
A federal judge in Boston cast doubt on
the legality of the Trump administration's termination of more than US$2 billion in federal research funding for Harvard University over alleged institutional failures including antisemitism on campus.
In a hearing on July 21, US Judge Allison Burroughs raised questions about the constitutionality of the government's decision to slash the funding and called some of their arguments in defense of the move 'mind boggling.' She pushed back in particular on the administration's claims that the funding cuts were justified by Harvard's failure to tackle antisemitism.
'There are limits to what you can terminate, and why, and how,' Ms Burroughs said to Justice Department lawyer Michael Velchik during the hearing. 'It seems to be your idea that you can terminate a contract even if the basis for termination is a constitutional violation.'
President Donald Trump has
made Harvard the main target of his effort to force universities to reshape higher education by cracking down on alleged antisemitism, removing perceived political bias among the faculty and eliminating diversity programs. Harvard's lawsuit alleges Mr Trump's move violates the First Amendment right to free speech.
The Trump administration announced earlier this year that it was scrutinising billions in federal grants and contracts to Harvard. The government has also threatened Harvard's tax-exempt status and tried to prevent international students from enrolling.
Mr Velchik said at the hearing that he attended Harvard and considered it to be the best place to get an education. But he repeatedly echoed Mr Trump's argument that the school 'exhibited a wanton disregard for antisemitism' during campus protests against Israel's war in Gaza.
'I am both Jewish and American so I hear what you are saying,' the judge said.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
World US President Trump 'caught off guard' by Israel's strikes in Syria
World US not rushing trade deals ahead of August deadline, will talk with China, Bessent says
Opinion Singapore's vaping crisis lays bare the drug addiction nightmare for parents
Singapore LTA seeks tailored solutions to improve Bukit Panjang LRT's maintenance inspections
Multimedia 'It's very sad': She comforts loved ones turned away by inmates
Singapore Subsidies and grants for some 20,000 people miscalculated due to processing issue: MOH
Opinion Sumiko at 61: 7 facts about facial skin ageing, and skincare ingredients that actually work
Opinion With Shatec cutting back operations, what's next for the hospitality sector?
Both sides of the case have asked Ms Burroughs to issue final rulings in their favour without a trial, an action known as a summary judgment. The judge ended the hearing without ruling and said she had not yet made a decision on the release of the funds.
The hearing came about a month after Mr Trump said in a social media post that the administration was nearing a deal with Harvard.
'We are confident that Harvard will eventually come around and support the President's vision, and through good-faith conversations and negotiations, a good deal is more than possible,' White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement on July 21.
On a social media post on Truth Social on July 21, President Trump referred to Ms Burroughs as an 'Obama appointed Judge' and 'an automatic 'loss'' for the government's case, but vowed to immediately appeal any ruling against the administration.
'Harvard has US$52 billion dollars sitting in the bank, and yet they are anti-semitic, anti-christian, and anti-America,' Mr Trump said in a post. 'Much of this money comes from the USA, all to the detriment of other Schools, Colleges, and Institutions, and we are not going to allow this unfair situation to happen any longer.'
After the hearing, dozens of Harvard alumni and professors held a rally outside the courthouse in support of the university, chanting the school's 'Veritas' motto and slogans like 'Stand up, fight back!'
Mr John Quackenbush, chair of the biostatistics department at Harvard's TH Chan School of Public Health, said the funding freeze threatens not only his own research related to cancer and other diseases, but the work of his post-doc researchers, who he said are now being recruited by foreign institutions.
'The drain on the future of American research is something none of us should stand for,' he said.
During the hearing, Ms Burroughs heard arguments by lawyers for the university and a group of professors, who argued that the funding freeze was unlawful and unconstitutional.
US lawyers claim the Trump administration properly froze funding because Harvard failed to curb antisemitism on campus, particularly after the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October 2023. They said Mr Trump rescinded grants because Harvard no longer complied with Mr Trump's policy of combating antisemitism.
'Harvard should have read the fine print,' Mr Velchik said during the hearing, arguing that the government can terminate grants at any time if a university is not aligned with its priorities.
The school claims Mr Trump retaliated when it rejected government demands to control its governance, curriculum and the viewpoints of faculty and students.
'In some ways you're justifying the conduct on protecting Jews and upholding American values but on the other hand taking steps that are antithetical to those things,' Ms Burroughs said at the hearing.
Later, at the end of the hearing, the judge told Mr Velchik that she hoped nothing had been said that would appear to diminish anyone's concerns about antisemitism.
'This is obviously a very fraught and emotional topic,' she said. BLOOMBERG
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Ireland's ‘economic miracle' at risk from Trump-EU tariffs
Ireland's ‘economic miracle' at risk from Trump-EU tariffs

Straits Times

time11 minutes ago

  • Straits Times

Ireland's ‘economic miracle' at risk from Trump-EU tariffs

Find out what's new on ST website and app. Attracted by low corporate taxes, companies such as Pfizer, Google, Apple and Meta have based their European headquarters in Ireland. LONDON - The deal between the United States and the European Union may have averted a transatlantic trade war, but worries persist in Ireland where crucial sectors are dependent on US multinationals. Attracted primarily by low corporate taxes, huge pharmaceutical firms like Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Johnson & Johnson, and tech giants like Apple, Google, and Meta have based their European headquarters there. The US investor influx has boosted Irish tax coffers and fuelled record budget surpluses in recent years. But President Donald Trump's tariffs – a baseline rate of 15 per cent on EU exports will apply across the board – present a stress test for the Irish economic model. Once one of western Europe's economic laggards, Ireland became known as the 'Celtic Tiger' thanks to a remarkable turnaround in the 1990s. A model built on low corporate tax and an English-speaking workforce in an EU country proved seductive to foreign investors, particularly from the US. Their presence drove rampant economic growth and would later help Ireland rebound from the financial crash of 2008. The transition was an 'Irish economic miracle,' said business studies professor Louis Brennan, of Trinity College Dublin. 'Ireland has advanced in a matter of decades from being one of the poorest countries of northwestern Europe to being one of the most prosperous,' he told AFP. In 2024, Ireland hiked its corporate tax rate from 12.5 to 15 per cent after pressure from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), but still anticipates a budget surplus of €9.7 billion (S$14.4 billion) for 2025. Ireland's 'spectacular' transformation 'may have been too successful because we are very dependent in many ways on American companies,' said Mr Dan O'Brien, director of the IIEA think-tank in Dublin. Pharma in front line Spared from the first round of Mr Trump's tariffs, pharmaceutical companies are now being targeted by the American administration, keen to repatriate production to home soil. Earlier this month, the US president threatened a 200 per cent levy on the sector. Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin expressed mixed feelings at the July 27 deal of 15 per cent, welcoming that 'punitively high tariffs' were avoided. But 'higher tariffs than there have been' will make transatlantic trade 'more expensive and more challenging,' he added. The new 15 per cent levy sealed will be 'particularly unwelcome in Ireland,' Mr O'Brien told AFP. 'The pharmaceutical industry is very large relative to the size of the economy, and in recent times around half of its exports have gone to the United States,' he said. A Pfizer plant on the outskirts of Cork, southern Ireland. PHOTO: AFP Pharma employs about 50,000 people and accounted for nearly half of Irish exports in 2024, reaching €100 billion, up by 30 per cent year-on-year. 'Ireland's problem is that it is uniquely integrated into the United States economy,' said Mr O'Brien. 'There's no other European country like this. So Ireland is caught in the middle,' he said. Official data on July 28 showed that Ireland's economic growth contracted in the second quarter, a consequence of Mr Trump's tariff threats. Gross domestic product shrank 1 per cent in the April-June period on reduced exports by multinationals, government figures showed. It had expanded 7.4 per cent in the first quarter as companies ramped up exports to the United States in anticipation of Mr Trump's tariffs. Large pharmaceutical companies, particularly American ones, also host certain patents in the country to reduce their tax burden, which then boosts the Irish tax take. Tariffs 'risk strongly discouraging American companies from setting up their future factories in Ireland,' said Prof Brennan. The US could still decide to impose further tariffs on the sector following an ongoing probe into whether pharmaceutical imports pose a national security problem, he said. Tech firms with EU bases in Dublin who have also transferred part of their intellectual property rights will not be directly impacted by the imposition of tariffs on physical goods. The sector is also a 'significant area of investment and employment for Ireland, but at least from a US perspective, it seems outside the scope of the tariffs,' said economics professor Seamus Coffey, of University College Cork. Beyond tariffs, tech could be affected if the US decides to modify its tax regime to make it less attractive to set up in low-tax countries, said Mr Andrew Kenningham, of Capital Economics. AFP

Chile will ask U.S. to include copper within U.S.-Chile trade deal
Chile will ask U.S. to include copper within U.S.-Chile trade deal

Straits Times

time11 minutes ago

  • Straits Times

Chile will ask U.S. to include copper within U.S.-Chile trade deal

SANTIAGO - Chile expects U.S. copper tariffs to be discussed within broader U.S. trade talks in Washington this week, Finance Minister Mario Marcel said on Monday in an interview with local radio program Duna. Marcel added that Chile would ask for any tariffs to be included within a broader trade agreement with the United States. President Trump's administration has said it will impose 50% tariffs on copper imports as of August 1. Chile is the world's top supplier of the red metal and is also the biggest provider of refined copper to the U.S., although it sends much higher volumes to China. Monday marks the start of a third round of talks between Chilean officials and the office of the U.S. Trade Representative. "What we hope is that these conversations we're starting today in Washington will also cover the issue of copper," Marcel said. "Because it wouldn't be very useful for us to have a trade agreement that excludes more than half of our exports to the U.S., such as copper and wood." When asked if Chile would seek an exemption to the U.S. copper tariffs imposed by Trump, the minister said they would seek for any tariffs to be included in a broader trade pact. "We want it to be part of the agreement, within the broader commercial discussions with Chile — not something handled separately — because it's a very central issue," the minister said. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Asia Cambodia, Thailand agree to 'immediate and unconditional ceasefire' to de-escalate border row Singapore Tanjong Katong sinkhole: Road recovery works progressing steadily, tests under way Singapore ST Explains: What we know about the Tanjong Katong sinkhole so far Singapore Foreign workers who rescued woman from sinkhole given tokens of appreciation Sport Gan Ching Hwee breaks 2 national records, qualifies for World Aquatics C'ships 1,500m final Asia Gunman kills 5 near Bangkok's Chatuchak market before taking own life Business SIA Q1 profit falls 59%; airline group sees volatile times ahead Singapore Man exposed daughter's identity despite court order after she was removed from his care Marcel noted that other countries have included exemptions and carve-outs in their trade agreements. REUTERS

Trump eyes 'world tariff' of 15-20% for most countries
Trump eyes 'world tariff' of 15-20% for most countries

Straits Times

time11 minutes ago

  • Straits Times

Trump eyes 'world tariff' of 15-20% for most countries

A container is loaded onto a cargo ship while docked at a port under the Port Authority of Thailand, following the announcement that U.S. President Donald Trump would impose tariffs of 36% on goods from Thailand starting on August 1, in Bangkok, Thailand, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo TURNBERRY, Scotland - President Donald Trump said on Monday most trading partners that do not negotiate separate trade deals would soon face tariffs of 15% to 20% on their exports to the United States, well above the broad 10% tariff he imposed in April. Trump told reporters his administration will notify some 200 countries soon of their new "world tariff" rate. "I would say it'll be somewhere in the 15 to 20% range," Trump told reporters, sitting alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his luxury golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland. "Probably one of those two numbers." Trump, who has vowed to end decades of U.S. trade deficits by imposing tariffs on nearly all trading partners, has already announced higher rates of up to 50% on some countries, including Brazil, starting on Friday. The announcements have spurred feverish negotiations by a host of countries seeking lower tariff rates, including India, Pakistan, Canada, and Thailand, among others. The U.S. president on Sunday clinched a huge trade deal with the European Union that includes a 15% tariff on most EU goods, $600 billion of investments in the U.S. by European firms, and $750 billion in energy purchases over the next three years. That followed a $550-billion deal with Japan last week and smaller agreements with Britain, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Other talks are ongoing, including with India, but prospects have dimmed for many more agreements before Friday, Trump's deadline for deals before higher rates take effect. Trump has repeatedly said he favors straightforward tariff rates over complex negotiations. "We're going to be setting a tariff for essentially, the rest of the world," he said again on Monday. "And that's what they're going to pay if they want to do business in the United States. Because you can't sit down and make 200 deals." Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Monday trade talks with the U.S. were at an intense phase, conceding that his country was still hoping to walk away with a tariff rate below the 35% announced by Trump on some Canadian imports. Carney conceded this month that Canada - which sends 75% of its exports to the United States - would likely have to accept some tariffs. REUTERS

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store