President Donald Trump is sharply escalating his legal war with Harvard University. Late Monday night, he increased his demand for damages to a staggering $1 billion. This follows months of failed negotiations over what he calls the school's "strongly antisemitic" culture.
The president lashed out at a recent New York Times report claiming he had dropped his demands for a cash settlement. Trump called the story "completely wrong" and accused the newspaper of being a "fake news" outlet. He suggested that Harvard’s behavior should be treated as a criminal matter rather than a civil one.
"Harvard has been, for a long time, behaving very badly!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. He claimed that the university's "heinous illegalities" warrant a payment much higher than the previous $500 million estimate. The administration maintains that the school failed to protect Jewish students following the October 7, 2023, attacks.
Trump also mocked a settlement proposal from Harvard involving a $500 million workforce training program. He dismissed the offer as a "convoluted job training concept" that was "wholly inadequate." He argued the plan was simply a way for the university to avoid a direct cash penalty.
Harvard President Alan Garber was also a target of the president’s late-night posts. Trump accused Garber of doing a "terrible job" of rectifying the situation for the institution and America. He vowed that the federal government wants "nothing further to do" with the Ivy League school in the future.
This standoff follows a year of intense pressure from the White House on elite universities. In April, the administration froze $2.2 billion in federal grants to Harvard over its DEI programs and campus culture. While a federal judge later restored those funds, Trump’s latest demand shows he is not backing down.
The battle has significant implications for Harvard's financial independence and future research. Other schools, including Columbia and Brown, have already settled with the government for millions.