A federal judge’s detailed ruling last month pushed back on the Trump administration’s use of Title VI civil‑rights enforcement in disputes with elite universities, restoring billions in federal grants and narrowing the government’s leverage. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs found federal notices lacked individualized findings tying campus antisemitism to Title VI violations, calling aspects of the administration’s approach a pretext. The ruling follows related fights over federal funding at research universities: Northwestern and Cornell are among institutions still negotiating to unfreeze grant dollars after the Education Department paused awards while probing campus responses to political demonstrations. Leaders at both campuses said they are working with federal officials to satisfy compliance questions and restore disrupted research programs. Why it matters: the cases pair civil‑rights enforcement with funding controls, creating a precedent that could shape federal oversight of campus speech, research continuity, and grant conditions. Title VI is the statute that bars race, color, or national‑origin discrimination in federally funded programs; legal experts warn the current litigation will determine whether federal grant termination letters must include detailed, evidence‑based findings to pass judicial review.