North Dakota Joins Effort Supporting Harvard Funding Cuts

 Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatct)

(Robin Opsahl. Iowa Capital Dispatch ) – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led a 16-state coalition that includes North Dakota filing an amicus brief  supporting the Trump administration’s efforts to cut some funding for Harvard University over reported claims of antisemitism on campus.

Bird, alongside 15 other attorneys general, filed the brief in a lawsuit brought by Harvard University challenging the move to strip billions in federal funding from the institution. In April, President Donald Trump’s administration paused $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $50 million in multi-year contracts for Harvard.

While the funding cut follows reports of instances of antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment on campus, the decision came after the administration demanded Harvard end its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, cooperate with immigration authorities and adopt merit-based admission standards or risk losing $9 billion in research funding — demands rejected by the university.

The federal lawsuit claims the federal government’s decision to slash funding for the university is being used as “leverage to gain control of academic decision-making at Harvard,” and argues the research funding being impacted by the cuts is unrelated to concerns about antisemitism. Attorneys for the university have also stated the funding cut is a violation of the First Amendment, as the government’s demands include potential restrictions on material that can be taught by Harvard faculty