A federal judge has struck the Trump administration’s $2.2 billion funding freeze of Harvard University, granting the elite institution a victory in its battle against the government.

The university and its employees’ groups had sued to win back the funding, which the administration rescinded after Harvard chose to resist its demands.

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U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs ruled to grant the funding back because she said it violated constitutional free speech protections and federal law. 

“Defendants and the President are right to combat antisemitism and to use all lawful means to do so. Harvard was wrong to tolerate hateful behavior for as long as it did,” Burroughs wrote in her 84-page ruling. 

“The record here, however, does not reflect that fighting antisemitism was Defendants’ true aim in acting against Harvard and, even if it were, combating antisemitism cannot be accomplished on the back of the First Amendment,” she continued. 

The administration froze billions in funding for the university in April. The freeze, which also affected many other elite educational institutions, came with a list of demands that Harvard and other institutions would have to meet to regain federal funding.

Harvard, unlike several other schools, resisted. It became the first school to do so.

The judge did criticize Harvard for its response to antisemitism, which the Trump administration had asked the school to crack down on. The university has taken measures to improve combating antisemitism, issuing a resolution in January after resolving a lawsuit with Students Against Antisemitism.

Burroughs said her order was necessary “even if doing so risks the wrath of a government committed to its agenda no matter the cost.” 

“As pertains to this case, it is important to recognize and remember that if speech can be curtailed in the name of the Jewish people today, then just as easily the speech of the Jews (and anyone else) can be curtailed when the political winds change direction,” she wrote. 

The Trump Justice Department wanted Burroughs, an Obama appointee, tossed from the case. The department argued that the Supreme Court has backed grant terminations in other areas and said the case should go before a court with jurisdiction over federal contract disputes.  

Burroughs rejected the argument and criticized the Supreme Court for issuing rulings that have “not been models of clarity.”

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Harvard is negotiating with the Trump administration to restore the funding.

One way could be a deal in which Harvard pays the Trump administration $500 million to restore its billion-dollar federal funding and have federal investigations against it dropped. The money would go to educational and vocational programs.