BOSTON, March 20 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration stepped up its attacks on Harvard University on Friday, suing the Ivy League school to recover billions of dollars for allegedly failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students.

Harvard has been a central focus of the president’s campaign to force changes at top American universities, which Trump has ridiculed for alleged anti-Semitic and “radical left” ideologies by threatening to withhold or withdraw federal funding.

In a complaint filed in federal court in Boston, the U.S. Department of Justice said Harvard remains deliberately indifferent to hostility on its campus and has willfully refused to enforce campus rules when the victims are Jewish or Israeli.

“This sent a clear message to Harvard’s Jewish and Israeli community that the indifference was no accident; they were being intentionally excluded and effectively denied equal access to educational opportunities,” the complaint said.

Harvard, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He previously announced measures to address anti-Semitism on campus, including updating disciplinary processes and expanding training.

Harvard University's Widener Library, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Cambridge, Massachusetts (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Harvard University’s Widener Library, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Cambridge, Massachusetts (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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The White House has challenged other schools

Friday’s lawsuit came less than two months after Trump said his administration was seeking $1 billion from Harvard to resolve investigations into school policies, after a published report said Trump had dropped his demand for a $200 million payment.

It also follows a Feb. 13 lawsuit in which the government accused Harvard of failing to comply with a federal investigation and requested documents to determine whether the university illegally considered race in its admissions process.

The White House has accused Harvard and several other schools of turning a blind eye to anti-Semitism on campus since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023.

Columbia University settled in July by accepting a $200 million fine. The following month, the White House demanded $1 billion from the University of California, Los Angeles to settle similar claims.

Harvard and the White House have fought several times

According to Friday’s lawsuit, Harvard’s indifference toward Jews and Israelis violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, and national origin in any program that receives federal funding.

It’s unclear how much the administration is seeking. The complaint says Harvard will receive more than $2.6 billion in taxpayer money from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services alone.

Last year, the administration canceled hundreds of research fellowships for Harvard researchers because the school allegedly failed to stop harassment of Jewish students on campus.

Harvard has sued the administration over some actions, prompting U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston to rule in September that it had illegally terminated more than $2 billion in research grants.

Burroughs has also blocked the administration’s attempt to ban international students from attending classes. The administration is appealing both decisions.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York and Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Rod Nickel and Andrea Ricci)