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President Donald Trump said early Friday morning that settlement talks between his administration and Harvard are still active — even as federal officials step up their pressure campaign against the University.
“I think we’re probably going to settle with Harvard,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews, the Maryland airfield that serves as a hub for presidential planes. “They want to settle very badly.”
Just days earlier, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a formal finding that Harvard violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students from harassment. The finding, made public in a letter to Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 on Monday, concluded a four-month investigation and added fresh ammunition for Harvard’s critics in Washington.
The determination could presage legal action by the Justice Department against Harvard, but similar findings often lead to negotiated resolution agreements instead. Despite the harsh language of the notice this week, Trump signaled that a resolution remains on the table. He provided few details about any potential deal, including timing or terms, but suggested negotiations are still alive.
“There’s no rush,” Trump said.
When pressed on the scope of the settlement, Trump said only that it involved “a lot of money.”
Federal agencies have frozen nearly $3 billion in funding to Harvard and cut off the University’s access to future grants.
In a post on Truth Social two weeks ago, when Trump first revealed that Harvard had reopened talks, he praised the University’s posture and claimed that a deal could come “over the next week or so.” That estimate is one that Trump frequently invokes when discussing timelines for his policy priorities.
A Trump administration official told The Crimson at the time that an agreement was closer than ever — but two weeks later, no resolution has been announced.
Harvard has not yet commented on Trump’s statements or confirmed the existence of any ongoing talks.
Trump also indicated on Friday that Columbia University — which, like Harvard, was found to have violated Title VI in its handling of antisemitism on campus — may be nearing a similar agreement.
“We’re probably going to settle with Columbia,” he said. “They want to settle very badly.”
The White House’s inquiry into Columbia has followed a similar trajectory to the Harvard case, including allegations that the University failed to respond adequately to reports of harassment targeting Jewish and Israeli students. Trump did not elaborate on the status of those negotiations or provide a timeline.
But unlike Harvard, Columbia responded to the government’s initial attacks by swiftly conceding on several fronts — including placing its Middle Eastern studies department under administrative control, banning masks at protests, and reviewing its admissions process.
That did not stop the Trump administration from continuing to target Columbia, and the $400 million in federal funding that was initially yanked from the university has not been restored.
Even as conversations with Harvard and Columbia remain unresolved, the Trump administration has already notched a win with one Ivy League campus: the University of Pennsylvania.
After three months of quiet talks, Penn announced on Tuesday that it had resolved a separate Title IX investigation into its handling of transgender athlete participation with the Department of Education — and saw $175 million in previously frozen federal funds restored.
In exchange, Penn agreed to strike records set by a transgender swimmer from its books, send apology notes to several of her teammates and competitors, and revise its athletic policies.
White House Senior Policy Strategist May Mailman told The Daily Pennsylvanian that Penn could be rewarded for its “goodwill” by receiving funds initially earmarked for Harvard, effectively pitting two Ivy League schools against each other as the administration incentivizes compliance and punishes defiance.
As the White House presses forward, Harvard’s continued negotiations have sparked backlash on campus. On Friday, more than 200 students signed an open letter urging the University to “reject any unreasonable or unlawful demands” from the Trump administration.
“Harvard is not Harvard if it's ruled over by the Trump administration,” the letter read.
So far, Harvard has kept settlement talks largely under wraps. In a private call with donors last week, Garber confirmed that negotiations were underway but declined to share any details about the terms being discussed. Instead, he said only that Harvard officials had spoken with the government about steps the University was already taking to address shared concerns, like combating antisemitism and bolstering viewpoint diversity.
Behind closed doors, Garber has taken a firmer line. According to a person familiar with internal deliberations, he has told advisors that Harvard will not accept any deal that compromises the University’s ability to govern its faculty or students.
But even that remark, which aligns with Harvard’s public statements, does not clarify where the University will draw the line.
And Harvard’s restraint is already being tested. On Friday, Trump signed into law a sweeping tax and spending package that increases the federal excise tax on the University’s endowment income more than fivefold — a hike that could cost Harvard more than $200 million annually.
—Staff writer Dhruv T. Patel can be reached at dhruv.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @dhruvtkpatel.
—Staff writer Grace E. Yoon can be reached at grace.yoon@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @graceunkyoon.
