Trump demands $1bn in Harvard dispute

The President took to Truth Social on February 3 to announce he was seeking $1bn “in damages” from Harvard University, adding: “This should be a criminal, not civil, event, and Harvard will have to live with the consequences of their wrongdoings.”

The announcement came hours after the New York Times reported the administration had dropped demands for a $200m payment it had sought from the university for its alleged mishandling of antisemitism on campus.  

In his post, Trump disputed the New York Times’ story, claiming Harvard had been feeding “nonsense” to the paper, upping his administration’s demands to $1bn and vowing the case would continue “until justice is served”. 

He claimed Harvard had proposed “a convoluted job training concept” in place of the money, which the president called “wholly inadequate”. Despite previous reports of an imminent deal, Trump’s fresh threats suggest a settlement is now out of reach.  

According to the New York Times, the administration had reportedly sought $200m, though Trump claimed the amount was “more than $500m, a number that should be much higher for the serious and heinous illegalities that they have committed”.  

Neither the White House nor Harvard University responded to The PIE News’s request for comment. 

We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University

President Donald Trump

Harvard has so far refused to settle with the administration, while several Ivy League institutions including the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, Brown University, Cornell University, and other high-ranking institutions have reached deals with the President.  

It has resisted multiple efforts of the administration to bar international students from enrolling, and has successfully defended its federal research funding, with a court ruling the government acted unlawfully in its attempts to strip $2.2bn in grants from the university.  

Responding to government allegations of antisemitism in April 2025, Harvard president Alan Garber wrote: “As a Jew and as an American, I know very well that there are valid concerns about rising antisemitism” – emphasising the university’s “moral imperative” to fight hate urgently.  

The university’s website outlines efforts to combat antisemitism on campus, which has included establishing a task force and enhancing training on antisemitism, strengthening disciplinary measures and introducing more support for Jewish students. 

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