“Moments ago, we filed a lawsuit to halt the funding freeze because it is unlawful and beyond the government’s authority,” Garber said in a statement.

The case, filed in Massachusetts, targets officials from the Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, Education, and Defense, among others.

It comes after the administration threatened to withhold an additional one billion dollars in federal grants, following an earlier freeze of 2.2 billion dollars, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“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,” the lawsuit reads.

Trump has accused Harvard and other elite US universities of pursuing a left-wing ideology and allowing anti-Semitism on campus.

His administration sent a list of demands on April 11, including that the university report foreign students who violate codes of conduct to federal authorities, which Harvard refused to comply with.

Garber said the law requires the federal government to engage with Harvard about the ways it is fighting anti-Semitism.

“Instead, the government’s April 11 demands seek to control whom we hire and what we teach.”(dpa/NAN)