A federal judge in the United States has dismissed the Trump Harvard lawsuit, brought by the administration of Donald Trump against Harvard University, which accused the institution of failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students from antisemitism on campus. The decision, issued on Thursday by Judge Richard Stearns in Massachusetts, found that the government did not provide sufficient evidence that Harvard had violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin.

Judge Stearns ruled that the incidents cited by the Department of Justice were too “isolated and episodic” to support the claim that Harvard was systematically failing to uphold federal law. The ruling granted Harvard’s request to end the case, which had been filed in March 2026. The lawsuit alleged that university faculty and administrators had ignored antisemitism and discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students following the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The Trump administration also accused Harvard of allowing anti-Israel protesters to occupy libraries, block student access to classrooms, and maintain a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus. However, according to the judge, the complaint did not include any incidents occurring after the government formally notified the university of the alleged violations. The events referenced in the case took place between 2023 and 2024.

This ruling marks a setback for the Trump administration’s campaign against Harvard and other American universities. In response, the Department of Justice stated it disagreed with the decision and is considering its next steps. The administration had also attempted to suspend billions of dollars in federal research funding to Harvard. In September 2025, a court ordered the reversal of more than $2.6 billion in federal funding cuts to the university, which had disrupted the work of hundreds of scientists.