Federal Judge Dismisses the Trump Administration's Lawsuit Seeking Harvard's Admissions Records
A Boston judge on Monday threw out the Justice Department's suit to force Harvard to hand over years of applicant-level data — the latest courtroom loss for the administration in its campaign against the university.
A federal judge in Boston on Monday dismissed a lawsuit by President Donald Trump's administration that sought to force Harvard University to turn over records for an investigation into whether the school continues to consider race in its student admissions process, Reuters reported.
U.S. District Judge Myong Joun rejected the Justice Department's lawsuit, which was filed in February. The department argued that Harvard was not complying with investigations into whether it is following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 ruling rejecting race-conscious admissions programs, and contended that the Justice Department and the Department of Education need years of applicant-level admissions data to determine whether race remains a factor in Harvard's decisions. The investigation was brought under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars racial discrimination in education programs.
Harvard's lawyers countered that the case was filed to retaliate against the university for refusing demands that it overhaul its governance, hiring and academic programs to align with the administration's agenda, and that the department sued without first taking legally required steps aimed at securing Harvard's voluntary compliance. Harvard said the records sought included sensitive data on thousands of high school students who sought admission. Reuters reported that Harvard contends the suit was part of a broader campaign by the administration against the Ivy League school, which Trump has said had "been, for a long time, behaving very badly."
Monday's ruling adds to a string of courtroom setbacks for the administration in its fight with Harvard. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based university has already secured rulings from other judges rejecting administration efforts to terminate over $2 billion in grants, to block the school from hosting international students, and in a suit alleging it failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students from harassment, according to Reuters.
