Judge Allison D. Burroughs, during the July 21 hearing in the case between Harvard University and the Trump administration, pressed a Justice Department attorney to explain why the government’s effort to cut off billions of dollars in research funding would meaningfully address antisemitism on campus.
Burroughs, who noted her Jewish faith during the hearing, appeared skeptical of the Trump administration’s argument that the university had failed to protect Jewish students—and that the appropriate remedy was halting federal contracts, including those supporting medical research.
“Let’s assume for the sake of argument that Harvard has not covered itself in glory on the topic of antisemitism,” she said. She questioned how pulling funding for something like cancer research had anything to do with addressing antisemitism.
