Harvard sued U.S.
PresidentDonald Trump's administration Monday in a sharp escalation of the fight between the prestigious university and the Republican, who has threatened its funding and sought to impose outside political supervision, AFP reported.Trump has sought to bring several prestigious universities to heel over claims they tolerated campus anti-Semitism, threatening their budgets, tax-exempt status, and the enrollment of foreign students, butHarvardhas refused to bow."This case involves the Government's efforts to use the withholding of federal funding as leverage to gain control of academic decision making at Harvard," the Ivy League university said in alawsuitfiled in a Massachusetts federal court that named several other institutions targeted by Trump."The Government's actions flout not just the First Amendment, but also federal laws and regulations," said the complaint, which called Trump's actions "arbitrary and capricious".Trump is furious at Harvard for rejecting government supervision of its admissions, hiring practices and political slant and last week ordered the freezing of $2.2 billion in federal funding to the storied institution.The lawsuit calls for the freezing of funds and conditions imposed on federal grants to be declared unlawful, as well as for the Trump administration to pay Harvard's costs..
This article first appeared/also appeared in Tehran Times