President Donald Trump said his administration is seeking $1 billion from Harvard University, signaling a sharp escalation in a long-running funding and legal battle with the Ivy League institution.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump announced late Monday that his administration is pursuing $1 billion in damages from Harvard University, marking a dramatic intensification of its confrontation with the school over federal funding, governance, and alleged ideological misconduct.
“We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
The statement follows months of legal and political conflict between the administration and the university. In December, the Trump administration appealed a federal judge’s ruling that held the government unlawfully terminated more than $2 billion in grants awarded to Harvard and barred further efforts to cut off the school’s research funding.
Harvard has been a central target in the administration’s broader campaign to use federal funding as leverage to force policy changes at U.S. universities. Trump and senior officials have repeatedly accused elite institutions of being dominated by antisemitic and “radical left” ideologies, and of failing to adequately protect Jewish students during pro-Palestinian campus protests.
Trump said last year that negotiations with Harvard were nearing a resolution that would have included a $500 million payment from the university after months of talks focused on institutional policies. Administration officials have accused Harvard and other colleges of advancing what they describe as “woke” ideology while neglecting campus safety obligations, filing complaints and demanding large financial settlements as part of enforcement efforts.
Earlier Monday, The New York Times reported that Trump had dropped a previous demand for a $200 million settlement payment following prolonged negotiations. Trump later addressed the breakdown of talks in his Truth Social post, saying discussions had included proposals related to vocational and trade education.
“They wanted to do a convoluted job training concept, but it was turned down in that it was wholly inadequate and would not have been, in our opinion, successful,” Trump wrote.
“It was merely a way of Harvard getting out of a large cash settlement of more than 500 Million Dollars, a number that should be much higher for the serious and heinous illegalities that they have committed,” he added, without specifying which laws the university allegedly violated.
Trump further suggested the matter should extend beyond civil litigation. “This should be a Criminal, not Civil, event,” he wrote, again without identifying specific criminal statutes or potential charges.
Harvard has not publicly responded to Trump’s latest statement. The administration’s appeal over the earlier grant termination remains pending, as the dispute between the federal government and one of the nation’s most prominent universities continues to widen.
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