{"id":2482372,"date":"2025-09-04T12:27:02","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T16:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obama-judge-blocks-trump-admins-harvard-funding-freeze\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T12:28:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T16:28:12","slug":"obama-judge-blocks-trump-admins-harvard-funding-freeze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obama-judge-blocks-trump-admins-harvard-funding-freeze\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama Judge Blocks Trump Admin&#8217;s Harvard Funding Freeze"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fobama-judge-blocks-trump-admins-harvard-funding-freeze%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2482372&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A federal judge appointed by former President Barack Obama blocked the Trump management&#8217;s attempt to freeze nearly $2.2 billion in federal funding to Harvard University, ruling that the funding freeze was unconstitutional. The judge,Allison Burroughs,argued that the administration&#8217;s actions infringed on Harvard&#8217;s Frist Amendment rights and were punitive,especially as the university was already addressing the concerns raised. The Trump administration had criticized Harvard for its handling of antisemitism on campus and its use of racial preferences under diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Burroughs acknowledged issues with Harvard&#8217;s tolerance of antisemitism but emphasized that combating hate should not come at the expense of free speech. This ruling follows Burroughs&#8217; previous decisions favoring Harvard, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >including allowing continued race-based admissions policies<\/a> later overturned by the Supreme Court. Education Secretary linda McMahon criticized the ruling and affirmed the administration&#8217;s commitment to appeal. Harvard maintains that it will continue to defend its academic independence while navigating legal developments. The outcome of any appeal remains uncertain.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span>\/ <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/41340252@N08\/3805687740\">Will Hart \/ Flickr <\/a>\/<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC By 2.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/09\/04\/obama-judge-blocks-trump-admins-harvard-funding-freeze\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Obama%20Judge%20Blocks%20Trump%20Admin%E2%80%99s%20Harvard%20Funding%20Freeze&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/09\/04\/obama-judge-blocks-trump-admins-harvard-funding-freeze\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Obama%20Judge%20Blocks%20Trump%20Admin%E2%80%99s%20Harvard%20Funding%20Freeze&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/09\/04\/obama-judge-blocks-trump-admins-harvard-funding-freeze\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/09\/04\/obama-judge-blocks-trump-admins-harvard-funding-freeze\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Obama%20Judge%20Blocks%20Trump%20Admin%E2%80%99s%20Harvard%20Funding%20Freeze&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/09\/04\/obama-judge-blocks-trump-admins-harvard-funding-freeze\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>A far-left judge <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/20\/obama-judge-escalates-attack-on-executive-authority-with-injunction-allowing-foreign-students-at-harvard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dead-set on protecting Harvard University<\/a> at all costs blocked the Trump administration&rsquo;s federal funding freeze, claiming the move to be unconstitutional. <\/p>\n<p>District Judge Allison Burroughs, an appointee of former President Barack Obama serving in Massachusetts, issued the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harvard.edu\/federal-lawsuits\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/17\/2025\/09\/gov.uscourts.mad_.283718.238.0_1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ruling<\/a> Wednesday. She stated that the Trump administration&rsquo;s freezes of almost $2.2 billion were illegally imposed because they are fundamentally attacking Harvard&rsquo;s right to free speech, and that they were essentially punitive because Harvard was already taking steps to fix the problems the administration took issue with.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1708695839\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>One of the Trump administration&rsquo;s chief complaints about the school was that it had an unsatisfactory response to what the U.S. Department of Education said were instances of &ldquo;antisemitism&rdquo; on Harvard&rsquo;s campus, violating Title VI. Burroughs said that Harvard was &ldquo;wrong to tolerate hateful behavior for as long as it did,&rdquo; but that the end of fighting &ldquo;combatting antisemitism cannot be accomplished on the back of the First Amendment.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Defendants and the President are right to combat antisemitism and to use all lawful means to do so. Harvard was wrong to tolerate hateful behavior for as long as it did,&rdquo; Burroughs wrote. &ldquo;We must fight against antisemitism, but we equally need to protect our rights, including our right to free speech, and neither goal should nor needs to be sacrificed on the altar of the other.&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The other primary complaint was that the school uses racial preferences under a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) ideology. As The Federalist has reported, the school has made significant strides toward <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/07\/harvard-continues-race-based-admissions-even-after-scotus-affirmative-action-decision-complaint\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">maintaining racial preferences<\/a> while attempting to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/04\/29\/harvard-rebrands-dei-office-to-hide-it-from-public-scrutiny\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hide it from public scrutiny<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Ironically, Burroughs is the same judge who allowed Harvard to continue its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/after-race-based-admissions-to-nations-top-high-school-students-drop-out-and-underperform-at-record-rates\/\" title=\"After Race-Based Admissions To Nation\u2019s Top High ..., Students Drop Out And Underperform At Record Rates\">race-based admissions policy<\/a> that was eventually overturned by the Supreme Court in <em>Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard<\/em>. She is also the same judge who <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/20\/obama-judge-escalates-attack-on-executive-authority-with-injunction-allowing-foreign-students-at-harvard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">blocked<\/a> the Trump administration&rsquo;s move to block Harvard from enrolling foreign students, thinking she had more control over U.S. immigration policy than the president of the United States.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In an unsurprising turn of events, the same Obama-appointed judge that ruled in favor of Harvard&rsquo;s illegal race-based admissions practices &mdash; which was ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court &mdash; just ruled against the Trump Administration&rsquo;s efforts to hold Harvard accountable for rampant discrimination on campus,&rdquo; Education Secretary Linda McMahon <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/EDSecMcMahon\/status\/1963382775580422630\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>. &ldquo;The Trump Administration is fully committed to appealing this erroneous&nbsp;decision and will ensure that new taxpayer funding is not invested at any university that steadfastly refuses to uphold civil rights for all students.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration has been focused on going after <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/harvard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Harvard<\/a> for months to get it to comply with civil rights law, threatening federal funding the entire time. Harvard has in turn refused to &ldquo;surrender our academic independence,&rdquo; as school President Alan Garber <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/05\/23\/obama-judge-blocks-dhs-from-revoking-harvards-ability-to-enroll-foreign-students\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>, and maintained fighting each move by the federal government in court.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Even as we acknowledge the important principles affirmed in today&rsquo;s ruling, we will continue to assess the implications of the opinion, monitor further legal developments, and be mindful of the changing landscape in which we seek to fulfill our mission,&rdquo; Garber <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harvard.edu\/president\/news\/2025\/an-update-on-our-litigation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> of Burroughs&rsquo; most recent ruling. &ldquo;We will continue to dedicate ourselves to expanding, disseminating, and applying knowledge, knowing that our successes will make a real difference for individuals across the country and around the world.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Left-wing judges in Massachusetts are often willing to go along with Harvard, but it is unclear how an appeal to a higher court will go for the school.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Breccan F. Thies is the White House correspondent for The Federalist. He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pa-court-rules-improperly-dated-mail-ballots-must-be-counted\/\" title=\"PA Court Rules Improperly Dated Mail Ballots Must Be Counted\">previously covered education<\/a> and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Breccan F. Thies<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreccanFThies\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@BreccanFThies<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/breccan-thies\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/allison-burroughs\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Allison Burroughs<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/dei\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">DEI<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/diversity-equity-inclusion-2\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Diversity Equity &amp; Inclusion<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/first-amendment\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">First Amendment<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/harvard\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Harvard<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/harvard-university\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Harvard University<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Judge blocks Trump&#8217;s freeze on Harvard funding, citing rights<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2482373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/3805687740_749ae27d5f_k.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[51647,6240,50433,5315,32640],"class_list":["post-2482372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-funding-freeze","tag-harvard","tag-judge-2","tag-obama","tag-trump-administration"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/3805687740_749ae27d5f_k.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2482372"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2482376,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482372\/revisions\/2482376"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2482373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2482372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2482372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2482372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}