Harvard University is taking the Trump administration to court. US District Judge Allison Dale Burroughs is overseeing the case, which involves over $2 billion in frozen federal funds. Burroughs held an initial hearing in Boston, facing technical difficulties with streaming on Zoom.
She acknowledged the situation with humor and proceeded without Zoom. Harvard has requested an expedited final decision rather than an immediate order to restore the funds, which are critical for significant research. The university’s lawyers specifically asked for Burroughs to be assigned, citing her earlier involvement in a related federal research funding case.
Laurence Tribe, a Harvard constitutional law professor, expressed confidence in Burroughs’ fairness and competence. “She is a brilliant jurist and I think she’ll give everyone a fair shake,” he said.
Harvard sues over frozen federal funds
Burroughs was nominated by President Barack Obama in 2014. She has an extensive background as an assistant US attorney in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, handling cases involving criminal gangs, drug offenders, economic crime, and technology-focused cases. Former US attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Donald Sterling, praised Burroughs as “hard working, balanced, smart, and highly ethical.”
Burroughs is no stranger to high-profile cases involving Harvard University.
In 2019, she upheld Harvard’s admissions process in an affirmative action case, which was later overturned by the US Supreme Court. She has previously placed checks on the Trump administration, issuing an order blocking the removal of individuals from seven predominantly Muslim countries during Trump’s 2017 travel ban. Burroughs also oversaw a case brought by Harvard and MIT against the Trump administration’s policy that would have forced international students to leave the US if their classes were online-only during the pandemic.
Recently, Burroughs blocked Department of Energy cuts to federal research funding in a separate lawsuit. The spotlight remains on Judge Burroughs as she navigates the complexities of this high-stakes case involving Harvard and the Trump administration.
