Harvard University said Monday that it is suing US President Donald Trump's administration, as the federal government seeks to cut billions of dollars in contracts and grants from the higher education institution.

In a statement, Harvard President Alan Garber said: "Over the course of the past week, the federal government has taken several actions following Harvard's refusal to comply with its illegal demands."

"Moments ago, we filed a lawsuit to halt the funding freeze because it is unlawful and beyond the government's authority," Garber said.

What do we know so far?

The Massachusetts-based Harvard is suing the Trump administration to halt the freeze of over $2 billion (almost €1.75 billion) in federal grants. 

"The tradeoff put to Harvard and other universities is clear: Allow the Government to micromanage your academic institution or jeopardize the institution's ability to pursue medical breakthroughs, scientific discoveries, and innovative solutions," university attorneys wrote in the suit, as per The Harvard Crimson.    

The Trump administration sent Harvard a letter earlier this month, demanding a range of concessions from the university.

Harvard was urged to stop policies related to diversity, equity and inclusion and to ban masks at campus protests, with the federal government also demanding audits of Harvard programs and agreements to screen international students on their ideological values.   

Harvard president pushes back against Trump

Harvard President Alan Garber has pushed back on those demands.

"The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights," Garber said in a message to the Harvard community. 

"No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue," Garber added.

The White House froze the funding after Garber's resistance to the demands.    

The Trump administration has criticized top universities for not doing enough to stop antisemitism, with Columbia University also being targeted.    

A Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Monday found that 57% of respondents disagreed with the statement that "it's okay for a US president to withhold funding from universities if the president doesn't agree with how the university is run."   

Edited by: John Silk