Trump Seeks $1 Billion from Harvard, Accuses It of ‘Bad Behavior’
President Donald Trump is demanding a $1 billion payment from Harvard University to resolve his dispute with the Ivy League institution, doubling his previous demand as both parties appear to be moving further away from a resolution.
The president escalated the situation on social media Monday night, stating that Harvard had been “behaving very badly.” He asserted that the university must make a direct payment to the government as part of any agreement, a condition Harvard has opposed, and indicated his administration wishes to have “nothing further to do” with Harvard in the future.
Trump’s remarks on Truth Social were a reaction to a New York Times report suggesting the president had abandoned his demand for a financial payment, thereby lowering the threshold for a deal. Trump denied he was backing down.
Harvard officials have not yet provided a comment.
Trump’s outburst seems to have solidified the positions of both sides in a conflict that Trump had previously suggested was close to being resolved.
Last June, Trump indicated that a deal was imminent and that Harvard had acted “extremely appropriately” during negotiations. He later suggested a resolution that would have required Harvard to contribute $500 million towards the establishment of “a series of trade schools” instead of a payment to the government.
That proposed deal now appears to have completely collapsed. In his social media post, Trump described the trade school proposal as having been rejected because it was “convoluted” and “wholly inadequate.”
Harvard has consistently been a primary target for Trump in his administration’s efforts to exert control over the nation’s most prestigious universities. His administration has rescinded billions of dollars in federal research funding for Harvard and attempted to prevent it from receiving funding after the university rejected a series of government demands in April.
The White House has stated that it is penalizing Harvard for allegedly tolerating anti-Jewish bias on its campus.
In two separate lawsuits, Harvard argued that it was being unfairly penalized for refusing to adopt the administration’s viewpoints. A federal judge concurred in December, dismissing the government’s claims and characterizing the antisemitism argument as a “smokescreen.”
Trump’s latest escalation occurs as other initiatives within his higher education agenda are faltering.
Last fall, the White House invited nine universities to participate in a “compact” that offered funding priority in exchange for adopting Trump’s agenda. None of the invited schools accepted. In January, the administration withdrew a proposed Education Department document that threatened to cut schools’ funding over diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
Upon entering his second term, Trump prioritized targeting elite universities that he claimed were dominated by liberal ideologies and anti-Jewish bias. His administration has frozen substantial amounts of research funding, which universities depend on for scientific and medical research.
Several universities have reached agreements with the White House to reinstate funding. Some of these agreements have included direct payments to the government, such as the $200 million from Columbia University. Brown University agreed to contribute $50 million towards state workforce development initiatives.
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