In a dramatic escalation of his ongoing dispute with Harvard University, President Donald Trump has now demanded a $1 billion settlement from the prestigious institution, doubling his earlier request. This increase in stakes suggests both parties are drifting further away from a potential agreement.
On Monday night, Trump took to social media to criticize Harvard’s conduct, labeling it as “very bad behavior.” He insisted that the university should make a direct payment to the government as part of any resolution—a condition Harvard has previously resisted. Moreover, Trump declared that his administration seeks to sever all future ties with Harvard.
Trump’s remarks on Truth Social were a rebuttal to a New York Times article that suggested he had softened his stance, removing the demand for financial compensation. The president was quick to deny any suggestion of retreat.
Harvard representatives have yet to release a statement in response to Trump’s latest comments.
The president’s sharp rhetoric signals that both parties remain entrenched in their positions despite a previous claim by Trump that the dispute was nearing a conclusion.
Back in June, Trump indicated that a resolution was imminent, praising Harvard for its conduct during discussions. He mentioned that an agreement was being crafted which would see Harvard invest $500 million in establishing a network of trade schools, rather than making a direct payment to the government.
That deal appears to have fallen apart entirely. In his social media post, Trump said the trade school proposal had been turned down because it was “convoluted” and “wholly inadequate.”
Harvard has long been Trump’s top target in his administration’s campaign to bring the nation’s most prestigious universities to heel. His officials have cut billions of dollars in Harvard’s federal research funding and attempted to block it from enrolling foreign students after the campus rebuffed a series of government demands last April.
The White House has said it’s punishing Harvard for tolerating anti-Jewish bias on campus.
In a pair of lawsuits, Harvard said it’s being unfairly penalized for refusing to adopt the administration’s views. A federal judge agreed in December, reversing the funding cuts and calling the antisemitism argument a “smokescreen.”
Trump’s latest escalation comes as other parts of his higher education campaign are teetering.
Last fall, the White House invited nine universities to join a “compact” that offered funding priority in exchange for adopting Trump’s agenda. None of the schools accepted. In January, the administration abandoned its legal defense of an Education Department document threatening to cut schools’ funding over diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
When he took office for his second term, Trump made it a priority to go after elite universities that he said had been overrun by liberal thinking and anti-Jewish bias. His officials have frozen huge sums of research funding, which colleges have come to rely on for scientific and medical research.
Several universities have reached agreements with the White House to restore funding. Some deals have included direct payments to the government, including $200 million from Columbia University. Brown University agreed to pay $50 million toward state workforce development groups.
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