Trump Calls for $1 Billion Settlement From Harvard | News

U.S. President Donald Trump demanded Harvard pay $1 billion in a settlement in a Truth Social post Monday night, pushing back against reports that the White House would no longer demand a cash payment from the University.

The post, a sharply worded late-night message from the President, marks a sharp uptick in hostility from Trump and signals that the White House’s nearly year-long conflict with the University is no closer to a resolution.

“We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University,” Trump wrote in the post.

His statement came hours after The New York Times reported that the White House was no longer conditioning a settlement on a cash payment with Harvard, citing four unnamed sources.

A Harvard spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s remarks. University administrators have been refusing any deal that includes a cash payment to the federal government and were instead negotiating the details of a workforce development agreement of up to $500 million.

But in his Monday post, Trump said his administration rejected plans for a technical education program, calling it a “convoluted job training concept” that was “wholly inadequate and would not have been, in our opinion, successful.”

“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,” Trump wrote.

Trump did not specify the alleged illegal conduct in his post, but claimed the University had committed “Criminal, not Civil” wrongdoings.

As part of a sweeping crusade against alleged antisemitism in higher education, Trump launched a litany of attacks against Harvard in his first year in office. By May, he froze roughly $2.7 billion in federal research funds and had attempted to revoke Harvard’s ability to enroll international students.

The University sued the federal government — and has since won injunctive relief — for both actions. The federal government has appealed both cases.

While litigation proceeds, Harvard has also engaged in talks with the White House to reach a potential settlement — negotiations that have proceeded only in fits and starts in recent months.

In July, President Trump claimed in a social media post that the two parties were set to reach a resolution “over the next week or so.” And in October, the President again floated a settlement, telling White House reporters that he had “reached a deal” with Harvard.

Trump similarly re-upped claims that a settlement was imminent in November.

The post also took direct aim at Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 — whose term was extended indefinitely in December — for failing to rectify “a very bad situation for his institution and, more importantly, America, itself.”

“He was hired AFTER the antisemitism charges were brought – I wonder why???” he added.

In a separate post early Tuesday morning, Trump called for the Times to update its reporting and referred to his ongoing lawsuit against the paper.

“The New York Times coverage of me is so purposely wrong. We will soon see how I do in my lawsuit against these fraudsters! FAKE NEWS!”

A Times spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

—Staff writer Hugo C. Chiasson can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at hcc.35. Follow him on X @HugoChiassonn.

—Staff writer Elise A. Spenner can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @EliseSpenner.