WASHINGTON — Harvard University said it has started receiving notices that many federal grants cut earlier this year by the Trump administration will be reinstated, though no federal payments have been received yet.
The notices, arriving from several federal agencies, follow a federal judge’s ruling in Boston last week that ordered the government to reverse more than $2.6 billion in cuts to Harvard funding. The judge found the cuts unconstitutional and said they had “used antisemitism as a smokescreen” for an ideological attack. The Justice Department has said it will appeal the decision.
Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton said late Wednesday that the university was monitoring incoming notices and receipts closely but had not yet received any money. "Harvard is monitoring funding receipts closely," Newton said. The reinstatement notices are an early signal that federal research funding could begin flowing after months of deadlock between the university and the White House, but the timeline for actual payment remains unclear.
The administration began cutting federal research grants to Harvard in April after the university declined to accede to a list of wide-ranging demands tied to a federal investigation into alleged campus antisemitism. Harvard sued, calling the cuts illegal government retaliation, and sought a court order to restore the funding while the case proceeded.
The dispute is part of a broader campaign by President Donald Trump to reshape higher education, with Harvard among his most prominent targets. The White House has opened numerous investigations into Harvard and other institutions and has sought an array of sanctions, including a move to block the university from enrolling international students. A federal judge blocked that particular effort in June after Harvard sued.
Although the administration has restored funding to other universities through settlements — including Columbia and Brown, which entered agreements to end federal probes and have federal money restored — no comprehensive deal has been reached with Harvard. The White House has said it seeks financial concessions from Harvard as part of any resolution; Trump has publicly demanded at least $500 million from the school and has urged advisers not to negotiate.
Legal and administrative actions in the coming weeks will determine whether the notices translate into actual disbursements. The government’s stated intention to appeal the federal judge’s order could prolong litigation and delay payments. University officials and federal agencies have not provided a firm timeline for when funds would be transferred.
The reinstatement notices represent a step toward resolving a high-profile clash over federal funding and campus speech, but they leave unresolved questions about the final outcome of the litigation and any conditions the administration might seek to attach to restored grants. Harvard and the Justice Department are now positioned to proceed through appeals courts or to return to negotiations, while researchers and programs dependent on the funding await confirmation that grant payments will resume.