On Monday, Harvard filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump's administration, marking a major escalation in its clash with the Republican leader, who has threatened the university’s funding and pushed for external political oversight. Trump has targeted several top universities, accusing them of allowing anti-Semitism on campus. He threatened their budgets, tax-exempt privileges and international student admissions. However, Harvard has stood its ground and refused to give in.

In a lawsuit filed in a Massachusetts federal court, Harvard stated, "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 suit also named several other institutions that Trump targeted. The complaint stated, "The government's actions flout not just the First Amendment, but also federal laws and regulations," describing Trump's actions as "arbitrary and capricious."

Trump is enraged with Harvard for rejecting government control over its admissions, hiring policies and political stance. Last week, he ordered the suspension of $2.2 billion in federal funding to the university. In response, Harvard has filed a lawsuit demanding that the freeze on funds and conditions attached to federal grants be ruled illegal, and that the Trump administration cover the university's legal costs.

Trump and his White House team have defended their actions against universities, claiming they are responding to unchecked "anti-Semitism" and a need to dismantle diversity programs aimed at addressing historical inequalities faced by minorities.

The administration argues that last year’s protests against Israel’s Gaza conflict on U.S. campuses were filled with anti-Semitic sentiment. In the wake of these protests, many U.S. universities, including Harvard, cracked down on students involved. Harvard, for example, placed 23 students on probation and withheld degrees from 12 others, according to protest organisers.

"Harvard can no longer be considered even a decent place of learning, and should not be considered on any list of the World's Great Universities or Colleges," Trump shared a post on his Truth Social platform last week. He continued, "Harvard is a JOKE, teaches Hate and Stupidity, and should no longer receive Federal Funds."

Harvard President Alan Garber stated the Trump administration had conducted "numerous investigations" into the university's functions. Just last week, Garber firmly stated that he would not "negotiate over (Harvard's) independence or its constitutional rights." Unlike Harvard, some leading universities like Columbia have given in to less extensive demands from the Trump administration, which accuses elite academic institutions of leaning too far to the left.

The Department of Homeland Security has also warned that Harvard could lose its ability to admit international students unless it hands over information about visa-holders involved in "illegal and violent activities."

According to Harvard's website, international students accounted for 27.2 per cent of its student body this academic year.

According to Monday's lawsuit, "Make no mistake: Harvard rejects anti-Semitism and discrimination in all of its forms and is actively making structural reforms to eradicate anti-Semitism on campus ". It added, "But rather than engage with Harvard regarding those ongoing efforts, the Government announced a sweeping freeze of funding for medical, scientific, technological, and other research that has nothing at all to do with anti-Semitism."

Trump’s remarks on diversity reflect a familiar conservative argument that U.S. universities lean too far left, silencing conservative viewpoints and giving preference to minorities. In Harvard’s case, the White House is pushing for an unusual degree of government involvement in the internal affairs of the nation’s oldest and richest university, which is also considered one of the world’s most esteemed centres for education and research.