President Donald Trump has announced that his administration has reached a $500m agreement with Harvard University to resolve the ongoing dispute between both parties.
On Tuesday, Trump revealed from the Oval Office that this agreement would end months of legal battles between the federal government and the prestigious institution.
“We are in the process of getting very close,” Trump said. “Linda is finishing up the final details,” he added, referring to Education Secretary Linda McMahon. “They’ll be paying about $500 million and they’ll be operating trade schools. They’re going to be teaching people how to do AI and lots of other things, engines, lots of things,” Trump added.
The negotiated framework would allow Harvard to avoid direct government payments and the funds would support vocational and educational programs through the coming years. Harvard has yet to confirm the settlement terms after Trump’s announcement.
The deal aims to resolve multiple federal investigations and restore Harvard’s federal research funding, which could reach nearly $1 billion annually according to Harvard’s President Alan Garber.
The federal government’s clash with Harvard intensified after Trump’s administration froze more than $2.6 billion in research grants and federal funding.
Trump’s administration wanted Harvard to hire external auditors to examine their students’ and employees’ viewpoints. They also demanded a complete stop to diversity programs and reduced authority for faculty members involved in activism. The administration pushed for greater federal oversight after Harvard’s President Alan Garber openly criticized them.
Harvard responded with legal action. Garber warned that these funding cuts could cost the school nearly $1 billion each year and might lead to staff cuts and hiring freezes.
The administration also attempted to cut federal contracts and restrict Harvard’s ability to accept international students. The Department of Education put extra financial scrutiny on the university and asked for a $36 million letter of credit.
The government cited concerns about antisemitism during pro-Palestinian protests to justify these actions. In spite of that, Harvard managed to keep its position that the administration overreacted for political reasons. The standoff led to court proceedings and settlement talks.
At the start of September, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs ruled that the Trump administration’s cancelation of research funding was unlawful. She determined that the administration “used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this country’s premier universities”.
The ruling canceled all funding freezes and termination letters. It permanently stopped the administration from withholding payments on existing grants or refusing to award new funding. The judge also found that the government had not followed Title VI procedures of the Civil Rights Act before cutting federal money.
Harvard’s $500 million settlement stands as the biggest payment among Ivy League schools facing allegations.
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