A federal judge on Wednesday stopped the Trump administration's attempt to axe $2.2 billion in research funding for Harvard University.

In an 84-page order, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs concluded that the Trump administration "used antisemitism as a smokescreen" to unlawfully block billions in research funding.

"We must fight against antisemitism, but we equally need to protect our rights, including our right to free speech, and neither goal should nor needs to be sacrificed on the altar of the other," Judge Burroughs wrote in her order.

"Now it is the job of the courts to similarly step up, to act to safeguard academic freedom and freedom of speech as required by the Constitution, and to ensure that important research is not improperly subjected to arbitrary and procedurally infirm grant terminations, even if doing so risks the wrath of a government committed to its agenda no matter the cost," she wrote.

Trump in April froze $2.2 billion in Harvard grants and $60 million in contracts following the school's refusal to budge on the government's demands after the administration's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism alleged the school failed to confront antisemitism on campus.