Why does the judge thing it is the Fed Govt's job to give Harvard, a private university any money?

What happens now? Does this mean that Trump will lose everything that goes to court? Will he become a lame duck President who will end his term with "hey... I tried!".

What next?


PS: The judge was appointed by Obama.

Judge says Trump administration unlawfully blocked $2 billion from Harvard
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/03/politics/harvard-trump-first-amendment-funding-cuts

Quote:

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A federal judge on Wednesday gave Harvard University a landmark victory in its fight against the Trump administration, siding with the Ivy League school in its effort to restore more than $2 billion in federal funding for research frozen by the White House.

The decision from US District Judge Allison Burroughs rejects the administration's argument that it was targeting the university due to antisemitism on the school's campus.

"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," wrote Burroughs, an appointee of former President Barack Obama.
"Their actions have jeopardized decades of research and the welfare of all those who could stand to benefit from that research, as well as reflect a disregard for the rights protected by the Constitution and federal statutes," Burroughs added.

The decision is a major victory for Harvard, the only university targeted by the Trump administration to take on the White House directly in court. The administration has argued it is cracking down on antisemitism on campus, but Harvard has become the epicenter of a broader fight over academic freedom, federal spending and campus oversight.

While Wednesday's ruling is a major win for the school, the Trump administration is almost certain to escalate its fight against the elite academic institution, prompting longer-term questions about the school's financial future. Already, the White House said it plans to appeal.

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Ignore it. Dems would.

All these liberal judges can off themselves. Don't give Harvard a dime and let these judgements go to the SCOTUS.

I like what the Trump administration is doing with Harvard's patents. It is basically trying to tie every patent that has been assigned to Harvard to research $$$'s. Any patents so tied to research funding that was not disclosed by Harvard as such can be confiscated by the U.S. government. Would create a HUGE mess for Harvard if the U.S. government starts asking any of Harvard's patent licensees for Royalties.

If Trump wanted to go nuclear on patents, he could just start reviewing all of Harvard's patents that receive any amount of licensing revenue with the Patent Trial Appeals Board, which invalidates something like 50% of the claims it reviews. The only PTAB challenges brought by the U.S. government have been brought by the armed forces, and they are batting 1.000, or close to 1.000.

I don't think Harvard wants to get real dirty with Trump. If they play nice and let this go to SCOTUS, Team Trump will likely let this settle in the courts mostly. If they go all Boasberg on Trump, I don't think Harvard will appreciate the results. PTAB findings all get appealed at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which seems to be a little more rational than the DC appeals court.

What's the Judge gonna do…arrest the POTUS?

BusterAg said:

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I like what the Trump administration is doing with Harvard's patents. It is basically trying to tie every patent that has been assigned to Harvard to research $$$'s. Any patents so tied to research funding that was not disclosed by Harvard as such can be confiscated by the U.S. government. Would create a HUGE mess for Harvard if the U.S. government starts asking any of Harvard's patent licensees for Royalties.

If Trump wanted to go nuclear on patents, he could just start reviewing all of Harvard's patents that receive any amount of licensing revenue with the Patent Trial Appeals Board, which invalidates something like 50% of the claims it reviews. The only PTAB challenges brought by the U.S. government have been brought by the armed forces, and they are batting 1.000, or close to 1.000.

I don't think Harvard wants to get real dirty with Trump. If they play nice and let this go to SCOTUS, Team Trump will likely let this settle in the courts mostly. If they go all Boasberg on Trump, I don't think Harvard will appreciate the results. PTAB findings all get appealed at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which seems to be a little more rational than the DC appeals court.

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Research money needs to be accounted for. I suspect for decades, universities took money claiming research and professors partied all around the world with the money with nothing or minimal to show for it. No output that can be measured in $$$. I hope that changes. I don't mind Harvard or any univ getting our tax money but there needs to be some oversight on how it was used. Not to give Profs a lavish life all around the world.

Marxists judges. appointed by commie ob & biden.

Harvard has a 51 billion dollar endowment. They shouldn't get one dime of federal money. They've got plenty to pay for the research themselves if they think it's worth funding.

Everything Trump is doing would be legal and beyond review if his team bothered to do it the right way.

I disagree with most of it, but for ****s sake, just get congress to pass it and I've got no objections to the tax or spending policies of the government that the people voted for.

infinity ag said:

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BusterAg said:

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I like what the Trump administration is doing with Harvard's patents. It is basically trying to tie every patent that has been assigned to Harvard to research $$$'s. Any patents so tied to research funding that was not disclosed by Harvard as such can be confiscated by the U.S. government. Would create a HUGE mess for Harvard if the U.S. government starts asking any of Harvard's patent licensees for Royalties.

If Trump wanted to go nuclear on patents, he could just start reviewing all of Harvard's patents that receive any amount of licensing revenue with the Patent Trial Appeals Board, which invalidates something like 50% of the claims it reviews. The only PTAB challenges brought by the U.S. government have been brought by the armed forces, and they are batting 1.000, or close to 1.000.

I don't think Harvard wants to get real dirty with Trump. If they play nice and let this go to SCOTUS, Team Trump will likely let this settle in the courts mostly. If they go all Boasberg on Trump, I don't think Harvard will appreciate the results. PTAB findings all get appealed at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which seems to be a little more rational than the DC appeals court.

---

Research money needs to be accounted for. I suspect for decades, universities took money claiming research and professors partied all around the world with the money with nothing or minimal to show for it. No output that can be measured in $$$. I hope that changes. I don't mind Harvard or any univ getting our tax money but there needs to be some oversight on how it was used. Not to give Profs a lavish life all around the world.

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I was involved in a court case where someone used a DOE grant to help pay for her MBA at an expensive school. Her and her husband both went bankrupt and served jailtime.

amercer said:

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Everything Trump is doing would be legal and beyond review if his team bothered to do it the right way.

I disagree with most of it, but for ****s sake, just get congress to pass it and I've got no objections to the tax or spending policies of the government that the people voted for.

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LOL congress is worthless they do one bill per session.

amercer said:

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Everything Trump is doing would be legal and beyond review if his team bothered to do it the right way.

I disagree with most of it, but for ****s sake, just get congress to pass it and I've got no objections to the tax or spending policies of the government that the people voted for.

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A liberal judge blocked the portion of the bill passed by congress to strip funding from planned parenthood.

So even your idea is not stopping judges from blocking patently constitutional action.

No college or university should be getting federal funds. That even includes Teas A&M.

When does a leftist judge spin out a TRA stating "Trump can not act as, or perform, the duties of the POTUS.."

Just cut to the chase, it's basically what they are doing anyway.

Urban Ag said:

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Ignore it. Dems would.

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This is the key. Past time to quit following these random federal judge's orders.

amercer said:

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Everything Trump is doing would be legal and beyond review if his team bothered to do it the right way.

I disagree with most of it, but for ****s sake, just get congress to pass it and I've got no objections to the tax or spending policies of the government that the people voted for.

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Congress has proven they're too pathetic to get anything done. He knows he can't depend on them because they're worthless and that includes the GOP majority.

BusterAg said:

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infinity ag said:

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BusterAg said:

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I like what the Trump administration is doing with Harvard's patents. It is basically trying to tie every patent that has been assigned to Harvard to research $$$'s. Any patents so tied to research funding that was not disclosed by Harvard as such can be confiscated by the U.S. government. Would create a HUGE mess for Harvard if the U.S. government starts asking any of Harvard's patent licensees for Royalties.

If Trump wanted to go nuclear on patents, he could just start reviewing all of Harvard's patents that receive any amount of licensing revenue with the Patent Trial Appeals Board, which invalidates something like 50% of the claims it reviews. The only PTAB challenges brought by the U.S. government have been brought by the armed forces, and they are batting 1.000, or close to 1.000.

I don't think Harvard wants to get real dirty with Trump. If they play nice and let this go to SCOTUS, Team Trump will likely let this settle in the courts mostly. If they go all Boasberg on Trump, I don't think Harvard will appreciate the results. PTAB findings all get appealed at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which seems to be a little more rational than the DC appeals court.

---

Research money needs to be accounted for. I suspect for decades, universities took money claiming research and professors partied all around the world with the money with nothing or minimal to show for it. No output that can be measured in $$$. I hope that changes. I don't mind Harvard or any univ getting our tax money but there needs to be some oversight on how it was used. Not to give Profs a lavish life all around the world.

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I was involved in a court case where someone used a DOE grant to help pay for her MBA at an expensive school. Her and her husband both went bankrupt and served jailtime.

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More of this needs to happen X 1000!

infinity ag said:

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BusterAg said:

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I like what the Trump administration is doing with Harvard's patents. It is basically trying to tie every patent that has been assigned to Harvard to research $$$'s. Any patents so tied to research funding that was not disclosed by Harvard as such can be confiscated by the U.S. government. Would create a HUGE mess for Harvard if the U.S. government starts asking any of Harvard's patent licensees for Royalties.

If Trump wanted to go nuclear on patents, he could just start reviewing all of Harvard's patents that receive any amount of licensing revenue with the Patent Trial Appeals Board, which invalidates something like 50% of the claims it reviews. The only PTAB challenges brought by the U.S. government have been brought by the armed forces, and they are batting 1.000, or close to 1.000.

I don't think Harvard wants to get real dirty with Trump. If they play nice and let this go to SCOTUS, Team Trump will likely let this settle in the courts mostly. If they go all Boasberg on Trump, I don't think Harvard will appreciate the results. PTAB findings all get appealed at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which seems to be a little more rational than the DC appeals court.

---

Research money needs to be accounted for. I suspect for decades, universities took money claiming research and professors partied all around the world with the money with nothing or minimal to show for it. No output that can be measured in $$$. I hope that changes. I don't mind Harvard or any univ getting our tax money but there needs to be some oversight on how it was used. Not to give Profs a lavish life all around the world.

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I worked on campus for a few years for a group of professors and researchers. During one particular hand-wringing session about a possible loss of government funding, we were all told we might lose our jobs if funding didn't come in because, "when we perform a study for a private company, we can charge them $50,000, but that same study for the government gets us $1,000,000."

Ag87H2O said:

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Harvard has a 51 billion dollar endowment. They shouldn't get one dime of federal money. They've got plenty to pay for the research themselves if they think it's worth funding.

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Yes, but Harvard cannot legally use the 51B for whatever they want. The fund is actually a collection of smaller funds and donors allow them to only use for specific purposes that they choose.

The real amount Harvard can use for research is smaller, though I don't know how much. I am sure they could squeeze out 2B from this!

Still a scam.

eric76 said:

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No college or university should be getting federal funds. That even includes Teas A&M.

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I agree.
Why won't Universities get loans like the rest of us? That would mean they have to be responsible with it and generate earnings somehow.

But no, they want free money to blow up.

Humorous Username said:

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infinity ag said:

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BusterAg said:

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I like what the Trump administration is doing with Harvard's patents. It is basically trying to tie every patent that has been assigned to Harvard to research $$$'s. Any patents so tied to research funding that was not disclosed by Harvard as such can be confiscated by the U.S. government. Would create a HUGE mess for Harvard if the U.S. government starts asking any of Harvard's patent licensees for Royalties.

If Trump wanted to go nuclear on patents, he could just start reviewing all of Harvard's patents that receive any amount of licensing revenue with the Patent Trial Appeals Board, which invalidates something like 50% of the claims it reviews. The only PTAB challenges brought by the U.S. government have been brought by the armed forces, and they are batting 1.000, or close to 1.000.

I don't think Harvard wants to get real dirty with Trump. If they play nice and let this go to SCOTUS, Team Trump will likely let this settle in the courts mostly. If they go all Boasberg on Trump, I don't think Harvard will appreciate the results. PTAB findings all get appealed at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which seems to be a little more rational than the DC appeals court.

---

Research money needs to be accounted for. I suspect for decades, universities took money claiming research and professors partied all around the world with the money with nothing or minimal to show for it. No output that can be measured in $$$. I hope that changes. I don't mind Harvard or any univ getting our tax money but there needs to be some oversight on how it was used. Not to give Profs a lavish life all around the world.

---

I worked on campus for a few years for a group of professors and researchers. During one particular hand-wringing sessions about a possible loss of government funding, we were all told we might lose our jobs if funding didn't come in because, "when we perform a study for a private company, we can charge them $50,000, but that same study for the government get us $1,000,000."

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Wow. Pretty clear to see how this kind of grift has been happening for far too long. There is no oversight for Fed funds.

What pisses me off is that this judge has ruled that it's against the Constitution to not reward this institution with my tax dollars. The government is not allowed to stop paying them my money. What a load of horse*****

It continues to amaze me that these commie rat f*** judges think they can override legal presidential actions.

What's next, some tyrant in a black robe will rule that it is illegal for Trump to take his next breath?

Every last one of these clowns should face review of their decisions and then immediate removal from the bench.

amercer said:

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Everything Trump is doing would be legal and beyond review if his team bothered to do it the right way.

I disagree with most of it, but for ****s sake, just get congress to pass it and I've got no objections to the tax or spending policies of the government that the people voted for.

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If your measurement for what is "legal" is what some activist district court judge says, then you believe that the court system are tyrants.

Most everything Trump's legal team does IS legal. The Constitution is the measuring bar here, not some activist judge who thinks he/she/shem has more power than what he/she/shem actually does.

Was the judge a Harvard grad?

Ag87H2O said:

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Harvard has a 51 billion dollar endowment. They shouldn't get one dime of federal money. They've got plenty to pay for the research themselves if they think it's worth funding.

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The HARVARD endowment is similar to TAMU. The money can only be spent on specific projects. The interest on the endowment money is a different issue.

Let the money flow for now. Cancel the next HARVARD grants at their source (NSF, NIH, DOE, DOD etc), that will hurt. That action will bring HARVARD to the negotiation table.

infinity ag said:

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eric76 said:

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No college or university should be getting federal funds. That even includes Teas A&M.

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I agree.
Why won't Universities get loans like the rest of us? That would mean they have to be responsible with it and generate earnings somehow.

But no, they want free money to blow up.

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Why don't you head on down to Bank of America and tell them you'd like to borrow $750K to do some work on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy? Seriously. It would be quite educational.

doubledog said:

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Ag87H2O said:

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Harvard has a 51 billion dollar endowment. They shouldn't get one dime of federal money. They've got plenty to pay for the research themselves if they think it's worth funding.

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The HARVARD endowment is similar to TAMU. The money can only be spent on specific projects. The interest on the endowment money is a different issue.

Let the money flow for now. Cancel the next HARVARD grants at their source (NSF, NIH, DOE, DOD etc), that will hurt. That action will bring HARVARD to the negotiation table.

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At 5% interest, 51 billion generates a little over 2.5 billion in interest. Seems doable. Problem solved.

Agree with canceling at the source. There is always more than one way to skin a cat. If nothing else, Trump's team has been fairly creative in finding justifications for cutting funding/personnel.

infinity ag said:

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Ag87H2O said:

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Harvard has a 51 billion dollar endowment. They shouldn't get one dime of federal money. They've got plenty to pay for the research themselves if they think it's worth funding.

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Yes, but Harvard cannot legally use the 51B for whatever they want. The fund is actually a collection of smaller funds and donors allow them to only use for specific purposes that they choose.

The real amount Harvard can use for research is smaller, though I don't know how much. I am sure they could squeeze out 2B from this!

Still a scam.

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What a novel concept!

I agree wholeheartedly!

Smart ruling by the judge here as she wrapped in extremely precise language fitting with the guidance provided by Amy Coney Barrett and other Supremes in the recent NIH Grant termination case.

This one is going to be hard to shoot down and the judge is following every bit of precedent and guidance cited by the ultimate deciders.

I'm still sort of amazed that the courts consider organizations as persons under the Constitution, and grant Corporations constitutional rights.

Yeah...it is an ancient custom going back to 800 bc and was prevelant in the earliest parts of the Roman Empire.

We allow corporations to be treated like individuals in so many aspects...ability to sue or be sued, ability to act as a counterparty in contracts, etc.

Things like 1st Amendment protections come from the view that corporations are just groups of individuals

Corporate first amendment rights came much later than that. Contract rights I can see - otherwise we have no way to have corporate commerce.

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/4/2/harvard-indirect-cost-rate-explained/

So of the $2 Billion that this judge is saying the US Government MUST sent to Harvard, $1.38 Billion goes to "indirect" costs.

Harvard's indirect cost rate the percent of federal funding that covers administrative costs of research is currently 69 percent, the largest of any Ivy League school.

Naturally, Harvard does not have to disclose or be audited on what this $1.38 Billion actually goes to. Sure, it could be for equipment to help in the research, but could go to anything at Harvard that it says "supports" the research... Including salaries, maintenance, or expenses to travel around the world.

Another interesting note from the article:
"That doesn't mean that it's not being used for research," Flier said. "It just means that it isn't booked that way."

How convenient. It also doesn't mean that it IS being used for research, Mr. Flier. I submit there's a reason "it isn't booked that way".

Interesting that this was bolded...

"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," wrote Burroughs, an appointee of former President Barack Obama.

So judge, according to you, the antisemitism on campus is just a "smokescreen", and therefore irrelevant? As is Harvard's tacit approval and support of antisemitic activities?

Should Josef Mengele have had full access to U.S. federal funds to conduct his "research"? Surely so, as antisemitism is just a "smokescreen".