As legal battles drag out, and possibly work their way up to a firmly conservative Supreme Court, the school is at an increasing disadvantage, some observers point out.

A group of 18 leading US research universities, including Princeton, MIT, Caltech and Johns Hopkins, asked a federal judge for permission to file legal arguments in support of Harvard University in its high-stakes showdown with the Trump administration over more than $2 billion in frozen grant money.

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration's move to revoke Harvard's visa program, halting a plan critics say could jeopardize international students and escalate court battles.