A Biden-appointed US judge dismisses the Trump administration's lawsuit demanding Harvard hand over race-in-admissions records on procedural grounds

The Justice Department filed the case in February demanding applicant-level admissions data, arguing Harvard was still considering race despite the Supreme Court's 2023 ban on affirmative action. Judge Myong Joun, a Biden appointee in Boston, ruled the DOJ had failed to take legally required steps before suing — including telling Harvard what action it would face for non-compliance.

Joun's ruling was purely procedural, leaving open whether the DOJ can ultimately compel Harvard to hand over data on thousands of applicants.

Harvard has now defeated four separate Trump administration legal assaults, including bids to strip $2 billion in grants and ban it from hosting international students.

Trump has targeted Harvard as a hotbed of 'radical left' ideology, making it the centrepiece of his campaign to force change at elite US universities.