The Trump administration will respond in court to Harvard University's lawsuit seeking to block a federal funding freeze imposed after the institution rejected a list of White House demands that it said would undermine its independence,

The university called the funding freeze "unlawful and beyond the government’s authority" and warned of severe and long-lasting consequences.

Harvard sued the Trump administration in federal court on Monday over its multibillion dollar cuts to the University’s research funding, accusing the White House of undertaking an arbitrary and unconstitutional campaign to “punish Harvard for protecting its constitutional rights.