Judge Allison Burroughs of the U.S. District Court in Boston on Wednesday ruled that Donald Trump’s administration has no right to seize federal research funding from Harvard University over antisemitic claims.

Harvard scored a major victory in Ms Burroughs’ courtroom, where it challenged Mr Trump’s decision to halt research funding, asserting that the government did not follow due process in terminating education contracts and aid.

“All freezes and terminations of funding to Harvard made pursuant to the Freeze Orders and Termination Letters on or after April 14, 2025, are vacated and set aside,” Ms Burroughs wrote in an 84-page ruling.

Ms Burroughs, a judge appointed by former President Barack Obama, said the administration was only using antisemitism as a “smokescreen” to withhold funding from the Ivy League institution, given that none of the recommendations proposed by the government directly addressed or prevented a recurrence of antisemitic harassment.

“A review of the administrative record makes it difficult to conclude anything other than that defendants used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically motivated assault on this country’s premier universities,” she ruled.

She further noted that while the school did not adequately protect Jewish students from harassment, it has now shown a willingness to do so; seizure of funding should not be the administration’s next course of action.

“We must fight against antisemitism, but we equally need to protect our rights, including our right to free speech, and neither goal should nor needs to be sacrificed on the altar of the other,” Ms Burroughs wrote in her ruling. “Harvard is currently, even if belatedly, taking steps it needs to take to combat antisemitism and seems willing to do even more if need be.”

Harvard is the only institution that challenged Mr Trump’s administration over the termination of $2.2 billion funding, arguing it was illegal.

The Justice Department said federal funding was not charitable money, but that there were conditions that must be met to obtain it. The DOJ said the administration reserved the right to halt funding if it saw that the school did not comply with the given rules.

Reacting to the ruling, White House spokesperson Liz Huston said the administration “will immediately move to appeal this egregious decision, and we are confident we will ultimately prevail in our efforts to hold Harvard accountable.”

“Just as President Trump correctly predicted on the day of the hearing, this activist Obama-appointed judge was always going to rule in Harvard’s favor, regardless of the facts,” added Ms Huston.

Columbia agreed to pay $221 million to Mr Trump’s administration in exchange for the restoration of billions of dollars in federal funding. Brown University similarly agreed to pay $50 million.

Harvard was asked to pay $500 million in an out-of-court settlement, but negotiations were still ongoing.

It is unclear whether the Ivy League institution will continue to negotiate with the government for a lower figure or wait until the court settles it, a case that might proceed to the Supreme Court after the appellate court’s ruling.