Applying pressure again, the Trump administration has sued Harvard once more

After months of deadlock, the conflict between Harvard University and the U.S. federal government has escalated again.

According to CCTV News, on February 13 local time, court documents show that the U.S. federal government filed a new lawsuit against Harvard University, seeking access to documents related to its admissions process.

The complaint filed with the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts accuses the Department of Justice of “obstructing” and “delaying” its investigation, refusing to provide necessary documents related to admission decisions, and “illegally” concealing “essential information” from the Department of Justice.

Harvard University spokesperson Newton stated in a release that Harvard has maintained “sincere” communication with the federal government and views the Department of Justice’s new lawsuit as another act of retaliation by the Trump administration for Harvard’s resistance to White House demands.

Harvard Responds

Newton wrote, “The university will continue to defend itself against these retaliatory actions. These actions are initiated solely because Harvard refuses to relinquish its independence or constitutional rights in the face of illegal overreach by government power.”

The U.S. Department of Justice states that the Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that Harvard considered race in undergraduate admissions, which violates relevant laws. The Department of Education announced an investigation into Harvard’s undergraduate, law, and medical school admissions procedures starting April 2025.

The complaint shows that Harvard submitted over 2,000 pages of admissions-related documents in May 2025, but the Department of Justice considers these mainly summary data and publicly available information. According to the DOJ, the requested data and documents include individual applicant admission data, admissions policies, and correspondence related to race, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and student fairness organizations.

The Department of Justice stated in a release that the civil lawsuit’s “sole purpose” is to compel Harvard to produce documents related to race in the admissions process. “In this lawsuit, the U.S. government has not accused Harvard of any discrimination, nor is it seeking monetary damages or the revocation of federal funding.”

Harvard also listed improvements made to its admissions procedures following the Supreme Court ruling in 2023. For example, admissions officers reviewing applications only received responses regarding race and ethnicity after the admissions process was completed. Harvard also instructed alumni volunteers conducting interviews not to inquire about or consider applicants’ race.

Is a New Wave of Attacks Beginning?

Last September, President Trump stated that the U.S. government was “very close” to reaching a settlement with Harvard, in which Harvard would pay about $500 million to fund vocational schools and teach skills like artificial intelligence. However, on February 2, he posted on social media that the project “will not succeed” and demanded $1 billion in “compensation” from Harvard, expressing hope to have “nothing to do with Harvard” in the future.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Defense announced it would cut all academic ties with Harvard and indicated that similar measures might be taken against other Ivy League schools in the coming days. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated that officers trained at Harvard, when entering the military, are “full of globalism” and that this does not enhance combat readiness. The Department of Defense will officially terminate all professional military education, scholarship, and certificate programs at Harvard.

Since Trump’s return to the White House last year, he has repeatedly accused Harvard and other universities of “anti-Semitism,” demanding these institutions “rectify” their policies or face reductions or cuts in federal funding. In April last year, the federal government announced the freezing of billions of dollars in federal research funding to Harvard, which has led Harvard to file a lawsuit, ongoing to this day.

(Source: First Financial)