US President Donald Trump said late Monday that his administration is pursuing $1 billion in damages from Harvard University. (File Photo)
US President Donald Trump said late on Monday that his administration was seeking $1 billion in damages from Harvard University, dismissing a New York Times report that said the White House had dropped an earlier demand for a $200 million settlement.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump accused Harvard of “feeding a lot of nonsense” to the newspaper and described the university as “strongly antisemitic”.
“We are now seeking one billion dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University,” Trump wrote, without detailing the alleged harms caused by the school.
He later said the New York Times report was “completely wrong” and demanded a correction. Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
The New York Times reported that the White House had eased its settlement demand amid slipping approval ratings for Trump, who has faced criticism over his immigration enforcement policies and the fatal shooting of two US citizens by federal agents in Minnesota.
The Trump administration has taken a broader approach toward using federal funding to press for changes at Harvard and other universities, arguing they are affected by antisemitism and what it describes as “radical left” ideology.
It has cancelled hundreds of federal research grants awarded to Harvard, saying the university failed to adequately address harassment of Jewish students. Those actions prompted Harvard to file a lawsuit against the US government.
Trump has previously threatened to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status and take control of the university’s patents stemming from federally funded research.
Several other Ivy League universities, including Columbia University and Brown University, have reached agreements with the administration and accepted some government demands.
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US President Donald Trump said late Monday that his administration is pursuing $1 billion in damages from Harvard University. (File Photo) 
