Harvard to sue Trump administration over funding freeze

Harvard University has sued US President Donald Trump's administration in an effort to halt the government's pause of more than $2 billion in funding for the noted educational institution.

"Over the course of the past week, the federal government has taken several actions following Harvard's refusal to comply with its illegal demands," Harvard President Alan Garber said in a statement.

"Moments ago, we filed a lawsuit to halt the funding freeze because it is unlawful and beyond the government's authority," Mr Garber said.

Among the US government agencies mentioned in Harvard's lawsuit, which was filed in a Massachusetts federal court, were the Education Department, the Health Department, the Justice Department, the Energy Department and the General Services Administration.

The Trump administration had no immediate comment.

It comes after Mr Trump threatened funding to the Ivy League university and sought to impose outside political supervision.

"This case involves the Government's efforts to use the withholding of federal funding as leverage to gain control of academic decision making at Harvard," Harvard said in the lawsuit.

Last week Mr Trump called Harvard a "joke" and said it should lose its government research contracts after the prestigious university refused demands that it accept outside political supervision.

Harvard has stood out for defying Mr Trump's attempts to force it to submit to wide-ranging government oversight, in contrast to several other universities that have folded under intense pressure from the White House.

He has demanded the university change the way it runs itself, including how it selects students and its hiring practices, and that it submit itself to "audits" of academic programmes and departments.

Mr Garber has previously said the institution would not "negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights".

The US president and his administration have justified their pressure campaign on universities as a reaction to what they say is uncontrolled anti-Semitism and support for the Palestinian armed group Hamas.

The anti-Semitism allegations are based on protests against Israel's war in Gaza that swept across campuses last year.