The Trump administration and Harvard University are appearing Monday in federal court for a major hearing in the legal battle over whether the administration can strip billions in funding from the school without going through regular processes.

Both parties are seeking to avoid a trial by asking Obama-appointed Massachusetts Judge Allison Burroughs for a summary judgment in their favor.

It is unclear whether Burroughs will grant summary judgment in a landmark legal battle over the extent to which the federal government can influence colleges and universities.

The Trump administration and Harvard have sparred for months over the school’s ideological makeup, admissions policies, and handling of campus antisemitism.

The administration announced earlier this year that it would review $9 billion in federal funding allocated to Harvard and its affiliates after the university refused demands to increase ideological diversity, monitor left-wing academic departments, and overhaul its admissions and hiring policies. Harvard sued in response, arguing that the administration was violating its constitutional rights and federal law.

In June, the Trump administration said Harvard violated federal civil rights law by tolerating antisemitic harassment of Jewish students and threatened to cut off all federal funding if Harvard does not fix the problem. Harvard was one of numerous elite universities to see an explosion of anti-Israel activism and antisemitic behavior following Hamas’s atrocities against Israel on October 27, 2023.

Burroughs recently sided with Harvard and issued a preliminary injunction last month preventing the Trump administration from ending Harvard’s international student admissions program. The Trump administration has said it is attempting to stop Harvard from enrolling foreign students because it allowed terrorist sympathizers and agents of the Chinese Communist Party on campus.

Across the board, the administration has increased vetting for international student visa applicants because of the role foreign students have played in perpetrating anti-Israel activism on college campuses. Many of the anti-Israel campus demonstrations have featured slogans calling for the destruction of the U.S. and sympathizing with U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations.

Beyond that, President Trump has floated the idea of rescinding Harvard’s tax exempt status as a nonprofit educational institution. Already, the administration has made Harvard the poster child for its broader push to reform higher education.

Seeking to address conservative critics, Harvard has explored creating a center for conservative scholarship on campus and investing anywhere from $500 million to $1 billion to establish it. Less than five percent of Harvard’s faculty identify as conservative, while over three quarters consider themselves liberal or very liberal.