Harvard University has initiated legal action against the Trump administration, recruiting a group of law firms and lawyers associated with the former president’s allies. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, targets numerous executive agency officials and Trump appointees, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
At the heart of the lawsuit is the assertion that the freeze on federal grants and contracts threatens critical research aimed at developing novel treatments for diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, creating protective nanofibers for first responders, supporting astronauts, and designing AI systems for cancer diagnosis and treatment.
The law firm Quinn Emanuel, based in Los Angeles and known for representing figures like Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has been tapped for this case. Musk, a significant donor to Trump’s campaign, is involved in efforts to reduce federal bureaucracy. William Burck, a prominent lawyer from Quinn Emanuel and a former White House attorney under President George W. Bush, has been brought on to assist in this litigation. Additionally, Robert K. Hur from King & Spalding, who has a background including nomination by Trump as Maryland’s US attorney, is also representing Harvard in this case.
The lawsuit has drawn attention to how the Trump administration is not only freezing funding for universities like Harvard but also targeting Big Law firms through executive actions. In this instance, the funding suspension arose after Harvard declined to meet the administration’s demands regarding diversity and inclusion programs and the admission of international students perceived as “hostile to American values.”
Harvard President Alan M. Garber expressed in a recent letter that governmental interference in what universities can teach and the diversity of their student body is unacceptable, regardless of the political party in power. In relation to the funding freeze, a White House spokesperson emphasized that federal assistance to institutions must meet certain conditions, which they believe Harvard currently does not satisfy.
Quinn Emanuel, William Burck, Robert K. Hur, and the legal team from Lehotsky Keller Cohn have yet to comment on the ongoing litigation.