The AAMC joined the American Council on Education and 26 other higher education organizations in an amicus brief supporting Harvard University’s legal challenge (PDF) to the administration’s various funding freezes and terminations dating back to April 14.
The brief, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, urged the court to grant summary judgment in Harvard’s favor. Harvard is challenging a series of freeze orders, termination letters, and other actions to refuse continuation of federal funding to Harvard, including funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services, and other federal agencies and departments.
The brief argues that the administration’s actions improperly seek to leverage federal grant funding to control Harvard’s governance and operations, creating a profound threat to the autonomy of academic institutions contrary to long-standing First Amendment precedent.