US President Donald Trump has announced he will seek $1 billion (£730m) in damages from Harvard University, escalating his administration’s ongoing conflict with the Ivy League institution. The announcement follows reports that the administration previously backed away from a $200 million demand in negotiations with Harvard.
Trump cited a New York Times report in a Truth Social post, accusing Harvard of “feeding a lot of nonsense” to the newspaper.
Accusations over campus antisemitism
Trump officials allege Harvard failed to adequately address antisemitism during pro-Palestinian protests, claims the university has rejected. Harvard has become a central target in the White House campaign against what it calls “woke” and “radical left” ideologies on American campuses.
Previous funding cuts and court battles
In April 2025, Trump revoked roughly $2 billion in research grants to Harvard and froze federal funding. Harvard sued, arguing the government should not dictate what private universities teach, whom they admit and hire, or which areas of study they pursue.
A US federal court later overturned the funding cuts, ruling that the administration had violated the university’s free speech rights. The White House immediately vowed to challenge the decision, claiming Harvard remains “ineligible for grants in the future.”
Trump ends negotiations, seeks full damages
Before Monday’s announcement, the government had been negotiating a potential deal to unfreeze funding. Trump wrote: “We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University.” He accused Harvard of “serious and heinous illegalities” without providing details.
Trump has previously threatened to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status and seize patents from federally funded research at the university.
Other Ivy League universities struck deals
Columbia, Penn, and Brown universities resolved similar disputes with the Trump administration through deals that preserved funding, avoiding court battles. Harvard has so far refused to settle.
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