Demonstrators in Boston, Massachusetts, gather to support Harvard University outside a hearing about Donald Trump’s decision to cut its federal funding on July 21 [Brian Snyder/Reuters]
US President Donald Trump says he will try to get one billion dollars from Harvard University. This is the latest step in a long running fight between his office and the school.
Trump made the announcement late Monday. He said Harvard should pay for what he called “serious and heinous illegalities,” though he did not say exactly what laws were broken.
The argument started when Trump’s team said Harvard did not do enough to stop anti-Jewish hate during protests over Palestine. The school says that is not true.
Because of this, Trump’s administration last year stopped about two billion dollars in government research money for Harvard. The university took the government to court over this, saying no one should tell a private school what to teach or who to hire.
A judge later sided with Harvard, saying cutting the money broke the school’s right to free speech. The White House said it would fight that ruling and that Harvard should not get grants later.
For a while, both sides were talking about a deal to give the money back. A news report by the New York Times said the government first asked for $200 million from Harvard, but then backed down.
Trump blames Harvard for that news story, saying the school was “feeding a lot of nonsense” to the media house.
Three other top universities Columbia, Penn, and Brown made deals with the Trump administration to keep their funding and avoid a court fight. Harvard did not make a deal.
Trump has also said before that he might try to end Harvard’s status as a tax-free charity and take control of inventions made with government money at the school.
On Monday, Trump wrote, “We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University.”