{shortcode-245b03e19835a46cfc084cafc92b4df5a222dedf}

Harvard asked a federal judge to fast-track its legal challenge against the Trump administration’s decision to freeze more than $2 billion in grants and contracts, calling for quick action to mitigate harm to research and academic projects.

In a court filing submitted Wednesday, Harvard requested an expedited resolution through summary judgment — a decision issued without a trial — and declined to seek a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction, which would have temporarily blocked the White House from enforcing the funding freeze while the lawsuit progressed.

“Until set aside by this Court, the Freeze Order, as well as the looming threat of additional cuts, chills Harvard’s exercise of its First Amendment rights and puts vital medical, scientific, technological, and other research at risk,” Harvard wrote in the filing.

The request comes two days after Harvard sued the White House, accusing the Trump administration of mounting an “unconstitutional” campaign to pressure the University into accepting sweeping federal demands — including federal audits of its academic programs and the installation of administrators who would ensure the White House’s directives are carried out.

In its Monday complaint, Harvard alleged that the Trump administration’s move did not abide by due process protections under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and amounted to unlawful overreach of power into a private institution.

But instead of pursuing emergency relief to immediately halt the freeze, the University is pushing for an expedited resolution that could bring a final decision in weeks instead of months.

The decision to forego a TRO is a sign that Harvard is betting on a legal strategy focused on the administrative record — the internal government documents and communications leading up to the freeze — and has asked the judge to set a schedule for both parties to file cross-motions for a final ruling.

The freeze remains in place for now, and the White House can continue to pull or suspend additional research grants and contracts.

The Department of Justice, which is representing the Trump administration in the case, has not yet filed a formal response to Harvard’s complaint. But in a Monday letter to the DOJ cited by Harvard in its filing, the University made clear that it expects DOJ attorneys to begin compiling the full administrative record behind the freeze — a process that could become a focal point for dispute in the legal battle.

Under federal law, the government must submit all materials it “directly or indirectly considered” when making the decision to freeze billions in funding. Harvard’s attorneys wrote that that includes internal emails, memos, agency discussions, communications with White House officials — and potentially even remarks President Donald Trump made privately on April 1 threatening Harvard’s funding.

“We expect the government to be prepared to explain the manner in which it searched for and compiled the administrative record in order to determine whether that search was adequate and the record is complete,” wrote Harvard attorney Steven P. Lehotsky in the letter, adding that Harvard may request deposition if it believes the record is incomplete.

Lehtosky also named several federal officials believed to be involved in the funding decision, including members of a multi-agency antisemitism taskforce. By requesting that all communications from those individuals be included in the record, Harvard is signaling that it plans to challenge the freeze not only on constitutional grounds, but also on procedural ones — arguing that the decision was arbitrary and rushed.

“The government has moved swiftly in its actions toward Harvard,” Lehtosky wrote in the Monday letter. “We therefore expect it to move with comparable dispatch in litigating this matter, including submitting the administrative record in this case.”

—Staff writer Dhruv T. Patel can be reached at dhruv.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @dhruvtkpatel.

—Staff writer Grace E. Yoon can be reached at grace.yoon@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @graceunkyoon.