Harvard University is reportedly willing to pay up to $500 million to settle a dispute with the Trump administration over alleged civil rights violations.
Negotiators are still discussing the exact terms of a settlement, The New York Times reported on Monday. The amount is more than double the $220 million that Columbia University recently agreed to pay to resolve accusations that the school failed to address antisemitism on campus.
“The Trump Administration’s proposition is simple and commonsense: Don’t allow antisemitism and DEI to run your campus, don’t break the law, and protect the civil liberties of all students,” White House spokesman Harrison W. Fields said before Harvard’s most recent hearing.
Fields said the administration was “confident that Harvard will eventually come around and support the president’s vision, and through good-faith conversations and negotiations, a good deal is more than possible.”
Harvard is reluctant to pay the federal government directly, the Times reported. Officials have been skeptical of Columbia’s agreement for an “outside monitor,” suggesting it could infringe on academic freedom.
President Donald Trump is insistent that Harvard pay more than Columbia, according to The Times. Harvard has a $53 billion endowment.
The school and its administration are waiting for a court ruling on federal funding cuts imposed by the Trump administration, The Daily Wire previously reported. The judge previously ruled against the government’s attempt to block the university from enrolling foreign students.
Harvard sued after the government cut federal funds, saying the move violates its First Amendment rights.
“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” said Harvard President Alan M. Garber.
In the past, Trump has called Harvard “Anti-Semitic,” “Far-Left,” and “a threat to Democracy.” The administration has found the university in violation of federal civil rights law, The Daily Wire previously reported.
But Trump has seemed pleased with recent talks.
“They have acted extremely appropriately during these negotiations, and appear to be committed to doing what is right,” Trump said in a June social media post.
In Columbia’s settlement, the school agreed to review Middle East-related programs; explore ways to improve and support Jewish students; and end diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
The administration is using Columbia’s settlement as a model for dealing with other schools.
“Harvard wants to settle, but I think Columbia handled it better,” Trump told reporters Friday.