Federal Judge Dismisses Trump Administration Lawsuit Demanding Harvard Admissions Race Data

US District Judge Myong Joun in Boston dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit on Monday seeking to compel Harvard University to turn over admissions records for hundreds of thousands of applicants as part of a federal investigation into whether the school continues to consider race in its admissions process. The ruling is a significant setback for the administration, which had argued that the Justice Department and the Department of Education needed years of applicant-level data, including student application essays, to verify Harvard's compliance with the Supreme Court's 2023 decision banning race-conscious admissions programs.

Harvard argued that the Justice Department filed the suit without first taking legally required steps to secure the university's voluntary compliance, and that the case was retaliatory, filed after President Trump announced in early February that he was ending settlement talks and seeking $1 billion in damages from the school. The university contended the lawsuit was part of a broader campaign to pressure Harvard into overhauling its governance, hiring, and academic programs in line with the administration's agenda.

The dismissal adds to a string of legal defeats for the administration in its standoff with Harvard. Other federal judges have already blocked the administration's efforts to terminate more than $2 billion in grants to the university, prevent it from enrolling international students, and pursue a separate civil rights lawsuit over the handling of antisemitism on campus.