Late this afternoon, Harvard filed suit against Team Trump. The complaint is here. The gist is found in paragraph 3, which reads as follows:
On April 11, 2025, citing concerns of antisemitism and ideological capture, the Government identified ten conditions Harvard must satisfy to receive federal research funding already committed to by the Governmentand relied on by Harvard, its researchers, and its affiliates (the “April 11 Letter,” attached as Exhibit A). Ex. A at 2,4. The Government dictated that Harvard “reform and restructur[e]” its governance to “reduc[e] the power” ofcertain students, faculty, and administrators. Id. at 2. It required that Harvard hire a third-party to conduct an“audit” of the viewpoints of Harvard’s student body, faculty, and staff. Id. at 3-4. Then, based on the results ofthis university-wide viewpoint audit, Harvard must “hir[e] a critical mass of new faculty” and “admit[] a critical mass of students” to achieve “viewpoint diversity” in “each department, field, or teaching unit”—to the Government’s satisfaction as determined in the Government’s sole discretion. Id. And the Government has demanded that Harvard terminate or reform its academic “programs” to the Government’s liking. Id. at 4. All told, the tradeoff put to Harvard and other universities is clear: Allow the Government to micromanageyour academic institution or jeopardize the institution’s ability to pursue medical breakthroughs, scientific discoveries, and innovative solutions.
The complaint alleges violation of the First Amendment in multiple ways, violation of the Administrative Procedures Act in multiple ways, and violation of statutory and constitutional authority.
Harvard’s Lawyers
The complaint identifies Harvard’s attorneys as individual partners of the Quinn Emanuel and King & Spalding firms—the two people who are known to have represented Harvard in discussions with Team Trump—along with four attorneys at Ropes & Gray, a distinguished old line Boston firm, and nine attorneys from four offices of Lehotsky Keller Cohn LLP, described as an elite litigation boutique firm.
The Lehotsky firm is well connected in conservative legal circles. One of the Lehotsky lawyers on the case was president of the Federalist Society at Harvard Law School.
Mr. Lehotsky, the first named partner of the firm, and the only attorney whose physical signature appears on the complaint, clerked for Justice Scalia and, at one point, directed litigation strategy for the United States Chamber of Commerce, where he was known for slaying regulatory dragons.
Harvard Alumni on the Supreme Court
Chief Justice Roberts, along with Justice Gorsuch and Justice Jackson, took their undergraduate degrees from Harvard College and their law degrees from Harvard Law School. Justice Kagan came to Harvard Law by way of Princeton.
Facing MAGA 