Harvard Nears $500 Million Deal With Trump Administration to Restore Funding

Harvard University and the administration of President Donald Trump are close to resolving a months-long dispute that has cut the Ivy League school off from federal research money, according to people familiar with the talks. Under the emerging framework, Harvard would pay about $500 million in exchange for renewed access to federal funding and the termination of ongoing government investigations. The clash began with a federal probe into antisemitism on campus and escalated after the White House suspended more than $2.6 billion in research grants, ended federal contracts and sought to bar international students from attending the university. Harvard responded with two lawsuits accusing the government of unlawful retaliation and threats to academic freedom. If completed, the proposed payment would be the largest financial penalty the administration has extracted from an elite university. Columbia University agreed earlier this year to pay $200 million, while Brown University settled for $50 million. Harvard, whose endowment is valued at roughly $53 billion, and the Department of Education declined to comment on the negotiations, which sources said could conclude within weeks.