{shortcode-6dc41d5fe41fc0f8aa75b197bfadc0d86ae728c9}
President Donald J. Trump demanded that Harvard pay “nothing less than $500 million” in order to restore its federal funding, calling the University “very bad” during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday.
“We want nothing less than $500 million from Harvard. Don’t negotiate, Linda,” Trump said, addressing Education Secretary Linda E. McMahon. “They’ve been very bad. Don’t negotiate.”
McMahon acknowledged the remark but did not respond further. Though the figure has been widely circulated in media reports, Trump’s comments marked the first time the White House has publicly attached a specific $500 million sum to Harvard’s case.
The clock is ticking closer to a ruling in Harvard’s challenge of the Trump administration’s freeze of more than $2 billion in research grants.
The University asked U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs to rule in the lawsuit before Sept. 3 — the date by which Harvard must start closing out federally funded projects if funding remains suspended. Harvard’s lawyers have said that a decision past that date could make it easier for the Trump administration to avoid restoring the frozen grants.
Burroughs previously expressed skepticism of the White House’s justification for the freeze, calling the administration’s arguments “a little bit mind-boggling.”
Trump has cast Burroughs as biased in posts on social media. And on Saturday, the administration sought to move Harvard’s case from Burroughs’ courtroom to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, citing a ruling that allowed the federal government to proceed with terminating diversity-related research grants to argue that funding claims could not be heard in district court.
Trump has vowed on his social media platform, Truth Social, to “IMMEDIATELY appeal, and WIN” any decision against his administration in the case. An appeal could drag the lawsuit out for months — and Harvard may face a less sympathetic audience if it reaches the Supreme Court.
The University, which is facing a cascade of investigations into everything from antisemitism accusations to foreign funding sources, has now spent months negotiating with the White House behind the scenes. No resolution has yet been reached, and Trump and other federal officials have alternated between signaling that a deal is close and raining down new penalties on Harvard.
University spokespeople did not respond to a Tuesday afternoon request for comment.
In a conversation with a faculty member earlier this summer, after facing weeks of outrage from Harvard affiliates who remained skeptical of a compromise with Trump, University President Alan M. Garber ’76 cast doubt on reporting that the school was considering a half-billion-dollar payment. More recent reporting indicates that Harvard and the administration continued to weigh a $500 million settlement that would direct funds toward vocational and educational initiatives rather than the federal government.
As Harvard’s battle continues in the courts, the White House has been striking deals to restore research funds to other Ivy League institutions in exchange for concessions on admissions policies, gender-affirming medical care, and academic programs that the federal government has accuse of antisemitism.
In July, Columbia University agreed to pay the U.S. Treasury $200 million over three years, as well as $21 million to resolve Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigations. Trump used the Columbia deal to push for a larger settlement with Harvard.
Brown University also struck a deal, committing $50 million in grants over 10 years to Rhode Island workforce development groups. Unlike Columbia, Brown avoided direct payments to the federal government — a framework that reports suggest Harvard is interested in pursuing.
—Staff writer Saketh Sundar can be reached at saketh.sundar@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @saketh_sundar.
