UC joins 35 universities supporting Harvard against Trump administration – dailybruin.com

Kerckhoff Hall, which frequently stands in for the Harvard University campus in movies and TV shows, is pictured. The UC signed on to an amicus brief filed July 22, standing by Harvard’s April 2025 lawsuit against the Trump administration. (Brighton Ludwig/Daily Bruin)
The UC signed on to an amicus brief filed July 22, standing by Harvard University’s April 2025 lawsuit against the Trump administration.
The University was one of 36 colleges and universities that signed the brief, which urges the First Circuit Court of Appeals to side with Harvard in its lawsuit to restore the nearly $2.2 billion in research grants that the federal government suspended in April 2025. The Trump administration froze Harvard’s grants over alleged antisemitism on campus.
The amicus brief comes after the Trump administration appealed a lower court’s September ruling in favor of Harvard, which temporarily restored the grants.
The UC joined the lawsuit to protect the partnership between universities and the federal government, a UC Office of the President spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
“UC will continue to carefully evaluate federal actions and use the appropriate legal and other avenues to protect the University, our community, and our ability to serve California and the nation,” the spokesperson said.
Harvard University was the first university to independently challenge the Trump administration in court for freezing its research grants. The federal government also suspended $584 million in UCLA’s grants in July 2025, alleging that the university allowed antisemitism, affirmative action practices and “men to participate in women’s sports.” Chancellor Julio Frenk denied the Trump administration’s allegations in a January interview with The Bruin.
A federal judge restored the bulk of the UC grants in August 2025 and September, siding with researchers who sued the Trump administration. The same judge ruled in November in a separate suit brought against the Trump administration by UC employees that the federal government could not suspend or threaten to suspend UCLA’s research grants.
[Related: One year after $584 million federal funding freeze, UCLA research still recovering]
The brief highlighted the importance of basic research to expand human knowledge and make life-saving innovations.
“For their part, universities and colleges generally cannot support robust basic research programs on their own,” the brief states. “Academic research generates breakthroughs that save and improve lives, build economies, and foster human flourishing. And it requires federal funding to do so.”
LOOKING FOR A CAREGIVER/PROVIDER/PERSONAL ASSISTANT to assist 34 year old young man with driving him to his activities. He has his ‘own’ vehicle. Location: Torrance. Please call (310) 946-7638

source