President and Fellows of Harvard College v. United States Department of Health and Human Services, et al. is a lawsuit filed by the Harvard Corporation against the Trump administration.
Background.
According to university president Alan Garber, funding for research at Harvard was affected by a federal grant pause imposed in January 2025. The pause was later halted by a court order. Garber later criticized funding cuts at the National Institute of Health that would reduce grants at Harvard Medical School. John Shaw, the vice provost for research, submitted a declaration with a lawsuit filed by thirteen universities, though Harvard did not join the lawsuit. In March, the Trump administration stated it would conduct a review of billion in federal funding to Harvard University.
Lawsuit.
On April 21, 2025, the President and Fellows of Harvard College sued several Trump officials, including secretary of health and human services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of education Linda McMahon, acting administrator of the General Services Administration Stephen Ehikian, and attorney general Pam Bondi, as well as their agencies, in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Harvard alleged that the Trump administration had levied its response to the university as "leverage to gain control of academic decision-making at Harvard."