BOSTON, Massachusetts: A federal judge has handed Harvard University a significant victory in its escalating clash with the Trump administration, ordering the government to restore billions of dollars in research funding that had been stripped from the school.

U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs ruled that the administration's US$2.6 billion in cuts were unlawful and amounted to retaliation after Harvard rejected government demands for sweeping changes to campus governance and policies.

The administration had argued the freeze was tied to delays in addressing antisemitism on campus. However, Burroughs said there was little connection between the university's research programs and discrimination issues.

"A review of the administrative record makes it difficult to conclude anything other than that (the government) used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this country's premier universities," she wrote. While stressing the need to fight antisemitism, Burroughs added that the nation must also protect free speech.

The ruling reverses months of frozen research money and canceled contracts that Harvard had said jeopardized hundreds of projects. Whether those funds actually resume flowing remains uncertain: the White House said it will immediately appeal, with spokeswoman Liz Huston calling Burroughs an "activist Obama-appointed judge."

"To any fair-minded observer, it is clear that Harvard University failed to protect its students from harassment and allowed discrimination to plague its campus for years," Huston said. "Harvard does not have a constitutional right to taxpayer dollars."

Harvard President Alan Garber welcomed the ruling but signaled caution about what comes next. "Even as we acknowledge the important principles affirmed in today's ruling, we will continue to assess the implications of the opinion, monitor further legal developments, and be mindful of the changing landscape in which we seek to fulfill our mission," he told the campus.

Researchers remain anxious. "Many of us are worried that the federal government is going to appeal this decision or find other ways to obstruct the delivery of research dollars, despite the judge's clear statement that the funding terminations were illegal," said Rita Hamad, a Harvard public health researcher.

The fight over research funding has become part of a wider political standoff. The Trump administration had sought not only to cut grants but also to block foreign students and even revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status. Officials demanded that the school change rules around protests, admissions, and academics, warning it had become a "hotbed of liberalism." Harvard refused, pledging to address antisemitism but insisting that "no government should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue."

Judge Burroughs' ruling bars further cuts that violate constitutional protections. She concluded the administration had imposed unconstitutional conditions on Harvard's federal money, writing: "If speech can be curtailed in the name of the Jewish people today, then just as easily the speech of the Jews (and anyone else) can be curtailed when the political winds change direction."

The decision is likely to embolden Harvard administrators as talks continue over a possible settlement. However, with the government appealing and Trump demanding that Harvard pay at least $500 million in any agreement, the battle is far from over.