Attorney General Bonta Files Amicus Brief to Protect Harvard from Unlawful Federal Research Funding Freeze

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta, as part of a multistate coalition, filed an amicus brief in support of Harvard’s lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s unjustified and illegal decision to freeze and terminate more than $2 billion in federal research grant funding. The Trump Administration’s attacks come in retaliation for Harvard’s refusal to cave to the President's demands that the university restructure its internal governance, change its hiring and admissions practices, and modify what it teaches its students to align with the federal government’s views. In the brief, the attorneys general urge the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to uphold the lower court’s decision blocking the Administration from implementing or enforcing its unlawful funding freeze orders.
 
“The Trump Administration’s attacks against Harvard are unlawful, retaliatory, and fundamentally incompatible with the rule of law,” said Attorney General Bonta. “We cannot allow the federal government to weaponize grant funding as leverage to force colleges and universities to cave to political demands. California stands with Harvard and in support of academic independence, free speech, and the vital research that supports our communities.”
 
Last year, the Trump Administration froze and terminated billions in grants in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Trump Administration’s unlawful actions have upended Harvard’s ability to conduct vital research. In October 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled in Harvard’s favor and vacated the grant terminations. The Trump Administration subsequently appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
 
In the amicus brief, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that if the Trump Administration’s attack on Harvard is not blocked, it would give the Administration license to take similar actions against other universities. Defunding these critical institutions would inflict severe harm on state economies, medical initiatives, and states’ ability to train the next generation of researchers. In California, for example, the University of California system contributed $82 billion in economic output in a single year and serves as the state’s third-largest employer behind only the state and federal governments. Undergraduate alumni from California institutions like Berkeley and Stanford have founded over 2,600 venture-backed companies helping maintain the competitiveness and prestige of our colleges and universities.
 
Attorney General Bonta is committed to defending educational institutions and protecting critical state funding from political overreach. Attorney General Bonta previously joined a multistate coalition at the district court level in filing a similar amicus brief to safeguard higher education, free speech, and academic freedom. By continuing this fight on appeal, Attorney General Bonta is working to ensure public university systems, including the UC and CSU systems, remain safe from similar politically motivated financial retaliation.
 
In filing the brief, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Massachusetts, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai'i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.