Harvard hires conservative lawyers to combat the Trump administration

A former Attorney General in Texas who spoke out for abortion restrictions. Two former employees of the Justice Clarence Thomas, one of the most conservative members of the Supreme Court. And a unique advisor to the Trump organization.

These are some of the conservative legal weights that Harvard University has hired to get a lawsuit against the Trump administration.

The A-list of the Republican lawyers is a departure from the last time Harvard was exposed to a legal fight against headlines. At that time, in 2022, Harvard defended positive measures and turned to a company that was long associated with the university, Wilmerhale.

But the Trump government confused the legal landscape.

Now Wilmerhale is attacked by the government itself and is fighting against his own battle. And Harvard faces a fundamental threat after rejecting a list of administrative requirements for which the removal of professors “more for activism than a scholarship” and the ban on international students who have opposed “American values”.

In contrast to the last time, it has billions of dollars of federal funds in the management if it loses.

Legal observers have said that Harvard has a good chance of gaining the legal services. Although the case could be exposed to the headwind if he reaches the Supreme Court, the list of conservatively oriented lawyers from the university in front of a court should give a thrust with a super majority of republicans.

“This fits a long tradition of customers who try to signal to the Supreme Court by the lawyer that this is not Harvard Liberal against conservative administration,” said Aaron Tang, legal professor at the University of California, Davis. “This is academic freedom. It should address someone throughout the political spectrum.”