Allison D. Burroughs

U.S. District Judge, District of Massachusetts - Ruled funding freeze unconstitutional

Harvard has received billions in federal research funding for decades without major controversy. Now President Trump is demanding the university pay $1 billion to the government—five times what he sought months earlier—after a year of escalating threats, frozen grants, and failed negotiations. The university has refused to capitulate, and a federal judge has ruled the funding freeze unconstitutional.

Updated Feb 4

U.S. District Judge, District of Massachusetts - Issued summary judgment restoring Harvard’s funding; ruling now on appeal

Harvard won. A federal judge said the government unlawfully cut off Harvard’s research money—then ordered the taps turned back on. Now the Trump administration is appealing, keeping a cloud over a sprawling research portfolio that runs from medical breakthroughs to national-security science.

Updated Dec 19, 2025