Federal judge tosses Trump admin Harvard admissions lawsuit, leaves door open to future challenge

A federal judge dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit against Harvard University over admissions records, citing procedural deficiencies. (Getty Images)

A federal judge on Monday dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit seeking to force Harvard University to turn over admissions records as part of an investigation into whether the Ivy League school continues to consider race in its admissions process.

U.S. District Judge Myong Joun ruled that the Justice Department had not adequately established that it followed required procedures before suing Harvard to obtain applicant-level admissions data.

The dismissal was issued without prejudice, leaving the door open for the administration to file another lawsuit if it addresses the procedural deficiencies identified by the court.

“The Government may be able to identify a qualifying determination or cure the procedural deficiency, but it has not supplied a sufficient basis for the judicial relief currently sought,” Joun wrote in his 10-page decision.

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Students walk through Harvard Yard on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on April 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

The Justice Department filed its lawsuit in February, alleging that Harvard had failed to cooperate with a federal civil rights review examining whether the university’s admissions practices comply with the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling limiting the use of race in college admissions.

The Justice Department alleged that Harvard repeatedly delayed producing requested documents and failed to provide individualized admissions records despite multiple requests and extended deadlines.

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In announcing the lawsuit in February, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi accused Harvard of withholding information necessary for the government’s review.

“Harvard has failed to disclose the data we need to ensure that its admissions are free of discrimination,” Bondi said at the time.

Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. Bondi said Wednesday that the Justice Department has sued the state of New York and several officials over its immigration policies. (Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Joun acknowledged that federal officials had made repeated requests for records and warned Harvard of potential enforcement action. But the judge found that the government’s court filings failed to adequately demonstrate that officials had followed the required procedures before seeking judicial intervention.

In particular, Joun noted that the Justice Department’s complaint did not allege that officials had notified Harvard of their intent to pursue litigation if the university failed to comply or adequately identified the specific compliance failure at issue.

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Joun also found that the Department of Education had not sufficiently demonstrated that it followed its own required procedures before referring its separate admissions investigation for judicial enforcement.

Harvard’s attorneys argued that the lawsuit was part of a broader retaliatory campaign by the Trump administration after the university resisted demands for changes to its governance and academic policies, according to Reuters.

The Trump administration announced it was freezing over $2 billion in grants and contracts after Harvard University said it would not comply with federal demands regarding antisemitism. (Reuters/Nicholas Pfosi)

The judge did not rule on Harvard’s retaliation claims, stressing that his decision addressed procedural deficiencies rather than whether the university had violated federal civil rights law.

“Nothing in this decision converts the Government’s request for information into an accusation of present discrimination or resolves Harvard’s underlying Title VI compliance,” the judge wrote.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Justice Department, Department of Education and Harvard University for comment.