WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has initiated legal action against Harvard University, alleging that the institution has not provided the admissions records requested by the Justice Department. This move aims to verify whether the prestigious Ivy League school has ceased the use of affirmative action in its admissions process.
In a lawsuit submitted on Friday to a federal court in Massachusetts, the Justice Department accused Harvard of obstructing its investigation into potential biases. The suit claims that Harvard has failed to cooperate with the federal inquiry and requests that a judge compel the university to produce the necessary documents.
Harmeet Dhillon, head of the department’s Civil Rights Division, expressed concern over Harvard’s lack of cooperation, suggesting it raises suspicions. “If Harvard has indeed ended discriminatory practices, it should willingly provide the data to confirm this,” Dhillon stated.
Harvard, in its response, asserted that it has been addressing the government’s inquiries. The university emphasized its adherence to the Supreme Court’s decision that prohibits affirmative action in admissions policies.
“Harvard remains committed to defending itself against these retaliatory measures, which have been initiated due to the university’s refusal to compromise its autonomy or constitutional rights in the face of unlawful government intervention,” the university declared.
This legal confrontation marks another chapter in President Donald Trump’s ongoing conflict with Harvard, which has faced significant financial penalties and other repercussions after dismissing a set of demands from the administration the previous year.
Trump officials have said they’re taking action against Harvard over allegations of anti-Jewish bias on campus. Harvard officials say they’re facing unconstitutional retaliation for refusing to adopt the administration’s ideological views. The administration is appealing a judge’s orders that sided with Harvard in two lawsuits.
The Justice Department opened a compliance review into Harvard’s admissions practices last April on the same day the White House issued a series of sweeping demands aligned with Trump’s priorities. The agency told Harvard to hand over five years of admissions data for undergraduate applicants along with Harvard’s medical and law schools.
It asked for a trove of data including applicants’ grades, test scores, essays, extracurricular activities and admissions outcomes, along with their race and ethnicity. It asked for the data by April 25, 2025. The lawsuit said Harvard has not provided that data.
Justice Department officials said they need the data to determine whether Harvard has continued considering applicants’ race in admissions decisions. The Supreme Court barred affirmative action in admissions in 2023 after lawsuits challenged it at Harvard and the University of North Carolina.
Trump officials have accused colleges of continuing the practice, which the administration says discriminates against white and Asian American students.
The White House is separately pressing universities across the U.S. to providing similar data to determine whether they have continued to factor race into admissions decisions. The Education Department plans to collect more detailed admissions data from colleges after Trump signed an action suggesting schools were ignoring the Supreme Court decision.
Trump’s dispute with Harvard had appeared to be winding down last summer after the president repeatedly said they were finalizing a deal to restore Harvard’s federal funding. The deal never materialized, and Trump rekindled the conflict this month when he said Harvard must pay $1 billion as part of any deal, double what he previously demanded.
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