Judge Dismisses Trump’s Lawsuit Against Harvard Over Anti-Semitism Claims
A federal judge, according to a report, has dismissed a lawsuit from the Trump administration that accused Harvard University of anti-Semitism.
In a report from May 2025, it was highlighted that the renowned institution had allegedly ignored calls for desegregation.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns indicated that the Trump administration was unable to demonstrate ongoing violations of federal civil rights laws. The judge remarked that the lawsuit, filed in March, largely revolved around issues that took place during the 2023-24 fiscal year, along with a few incidents beginning in March 2025.
Stearns noted that these events were “too isolated and temporary” to establish any enduring civil rights violations at the Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The lawsuit claimed that the university did not adequately protect Jewish students during anti-Israel protests that followed the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023. However, Harvard’s President Alan M. Garber asserted that the institution had initiated measures to address anti-Semitism, which included creating a task force.
The Department of Education is currently investigating allegations of discrimination and anti-Semitism at Harvard University.
Stearns was appointed by former President Bill Clinton and works from Boston, Massachusetts.
In response to the dismissal, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon stated that the administration disagrees with the ruling and is evaluating its next steps. She mentioned that the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division is actively looking into anti-Semitism across the United States, maintaining a comprehensive enforcement approach that includes prosecutions and investigations.
Previous reports from May indicate that Harvard University has been accused of non-compliance with requests for reforms aimed at preventing anti-Semitism and discrimination. The university is among those being observed by the Federal Task Force on Anti-Semitism.
Moreover, a June 2025 report stated that the Trump administration’s investigation determined that Harvard had willfully disregarded the civil rights of Jewish and Israeli students.
Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) expressed concerns in a past interview, stating, “Harvard continues to fail miserably” regarding its stance on anti-Semitism, indicating a need for further investigation into the situation and its funding sources.
