A federal judge in Boston has dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit accusing Harvard of failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students from antisemitic harassment. The ruling is a setback for the Justice Department’s effort to use civil-rights law to pressure Harvard and potentially recover federal research funding, though the department said it was considering its next steps.

Judge Richard Stearns found that the government had not shown an ongoing violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, saying the alleged incidents were largely from the 2023–24 academic year and were too isolated to establish persistent institutional non-compliance. The case sought billions of dollars in grants awarded since October 2023; Harvard has said it is committed to protecting Jewish and Israeli students and has introduced measures including a task force and disciplinary reforms.