The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) has joined with the American Council on Education and 26 other organizations in an amicus brief supporting Harvard University’s lawsuit against the Trump administration. The suit was filed after the administration froze more than $2.2 billion of Harvard’s federal research grants, citing alleged governance failures and a lack of “viewpoint diversity.”
The suit seeks relief against the freeze, which was unprecedented in its nature and scope, and equally unprecedented in the actions that it would require of Harvard to restore the funding. These actions would have involved academic programming, admissions, faculty structure, etc. In any case, reports indicate that much of Harvard’s federal funding has, in fact, been frozen and/or terminated, totaling some $2.4 billion.
The amicus brief that AACC joined is relatively succinct and is aimed as much at the public at large as it is to the court. Its legal arguments are largely based on the First Amendment and separation of powers doctrine embodied in the Constitution. It emphasizes the historic nature of the defined boundaries separating academia and the federal government, as well as the benefits they have provided for the nation — along with their legal justification.
The administration has altered traditional relationships between higher education and the federal government to an extent not seriously, or at least publicly, envisioned beforehand. Community colleges have felt the impact of these altered practices in many ways.
“If federal officials in 2025 are permitted to force universities to cater to whoever holds the political power of the moment, it will happen again and again, in 2028, 2032, 2036, and beyond,” the brief argues, emphasizing that due process has not been followed in Harvard’s case — a claim that, on its face, seems very hard to refute.
The brief continues, “At times the Administration has suggested its action are designed to promote compliance with Title VI and punish Harvard for not sufficiently preventing ‘antisemitic harassment.’ Amici condemn antisemitism, and all forms of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or heritage in the strongest possible terms. All students and faculty should feel welcome and safe on our nation’s campuses and never be subjected to harassment…[However,] the Administration has not acted through any of the prescribed processes for enforcing title VI.”
The brief also states that the administration’s actions over the past few months have “put institutions to a stark choice: cede to the Executive Branch’s demands for face crippling government retaliation.”
A hearing on the Harvard case is scheduled for July 21. In a related development, the House Committee on Education and Workforce has scheduled another hearing on July 9 in a continuing series on antisemitism on college campuses. It will focus on the “role of faculty, funding and ideology” in antisemitism in higher education.
