Harvard, Trump close to $500 million payment to settle federal funding freeze, source says
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Details of the proposed framework were first reported by The New York Times.
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investment
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August 14, 2025
07:45 PM
Fortune
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·Colleges and UniversitiesHarvard, Trump close to $500 million payment to settle federal funding freeze, source saysBy Collin BinkleyBy The Associated PressBy Collin BinkleyBy The Associated Press Harvard University.AP Photo/Steven Senne, FileHarvard University and the Trump administration are getting close to an agreement that would require the Ivy League university to pay $500 million to regain access to federal funding and to end investigations, according to a person familiar with the matter
The framework is still being ed out with significant gaps to close, but both sides have agreed on the financial figure and a settlement could be finalized in coming weeks, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations
The agreement would end a monthslong battle that has tested the boundaries of the government’s authority over America’s universities
What began as an investigation into campus antisemitism escalated into an all-out feud as the Trump administration slashed more than $2.6 billion in re funding, federal contracts and attempted to block Harvard from hosting international students
The university responded with a pair of lawsuits alleging illegal retaliation by the administration after Harvard rejected a set of demands that campus leaders viewed as a threat to academic freedom
Details of the posed framework were first reported by The New York Times
A $500 million payment would be the largest sum yet as the administration pushes for financial penalties in its settlements with elite universities
Columbia University agreed to pay the government $200 million as part of an agreement restoring access to federal funding, while Brown University separately agreed to pay $50 million to Rhode Island workforce development organizations
Details have not been finalized on where Harvard’s potential payment would go, the person said
The Republican president has been pushing to reform prestigious universities that he decries as bastions of liberal ideology
His administration has cut funding to several Ivy League schools while pressing demands in line with his political campaign
None has been targeted as frequently or as heavily as Harvard, the richest U.S. university with an endowment valued at $53 billion
More than a dozen Democrats in Congress who att Harvard cautioned against a settlement on Aug. 1, warning the university it may warrant “rigorous Congressional oversight and inquiry.” Capitulating to political demands, they said, would set a dangerous precedent across all of higher education. ___ The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations
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