Trump Drops Demand for $200 million in Cash From Harvard After Stiff Resistance [View all]

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

I wish other universities had held out


https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/us/politics/trump-harvard-payment.html

Trump Drops Demand for Cash From Harvard After Stiff Resistance
The Trump administration has lowered the bar for a deal with the university, backtracking on its insistence on a $200 million payment to the government, The New York Times has learned.


Harvard has been the top target in Mr. Trump’s sweeping campaign to exert more control over higher education. Hard-liners in his administration had wanted Harvard to write a check to the U.S. Treasury as part of a deal to address claims that university officials mishandled antisemitism, The New York Times previously reported. But Harvard, wary of backlash from liberal students and faculty, has rejected the idea.

Trump administration officials have indicated in recent days that the president no longer expects such a payment, according to the Harvard and Trump officials briefed on the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.

The White House’s concession comes amid sagging approval ratings for Mr. Trump, and as he faces outrage over immigration enforcement tactics and the shooting deaths of two Americans by federal agents in Minnesota. A deal with Harvard would hand the president a victory at a difficult time in his presidency.