President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his government is close to finalizing an agreement with Harvard University, in an understanding that could potentially resolve one of the most emblematic disputes between his management and US higher education.
“They will pay about $ 500 million and operate technical schools. They will teach people to work with AI and many other things,” said Trump.
The university had signaled last month that it was open to invest approximately this value in professional training programs as part of an agreement with the government, as previously reported by Bloomberg.
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“All you need to do is formalize this,” Trump told Education Secretary Linda McMahon while signing an executive order in the Oval Hall.
The president did not specify whether the agreement would include an independent monitor, a form of supervision that Columbia University accepted in its own agreement with the government – but has been a standing point in the negotiations with Harvard.
Harvard did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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Harvard and the US government have been on a dollar billions of dollars for months in federal funding for the institution of Ivy League, a group of eight private elite universities in the United States. Initially, Trump accused Harvard not to combat anti -Semitism on campus after Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023, but the dispute expanded to include political bias allegations, scrutiny by university calls with China, and opposition to diversity efforts.
Trump had previously said that both sides were close to an agreement. In June, he stated that an agreement could be announced in a week, describing it as “incredibly ‘historical and very good for our country.”
This month, Harvard obtained a significant legal victory when a judge stated that the government violated the university’s rights of freedom of expression by cutting over $ 2 billion in funding for research. The administration has announced that it will appeal the decision.
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Soon after, $ 46 million in suspended funds began to be released to Harvard.
Still, negotiations for an agreement continue, and in recent weeks the White House has intensified the pressure on the university.
On Monday (29), the US Department of Human Health and Human Services announced that it was referring Harvard for administrative suspension and exclusion procedures, a measure that would prevent the university from entering contracts with government agencies or receiving any federal funding, including research scholarships and student aid.
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Trump’s attack on Cambridge University, Massachusetts, generated a national debate on academic freedom, ideological diversity in campuses, use of race in admissions and hiring, and the role of government in support for higher education and research.
In his statements on Tuesday, Trump said he “we have a good chance” to finish the deal with Harvard.
Payments for technical schools have become a consensus point in negotiations between the White House and elite universities on suspended financing for research. Brown University agreed to pay $ 50 million for vocational programs in its state, Rhode Island, as part of an agreement to restore federal funding in July.
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“It’s a great investment in technical schools, made by very intelligent people, and then their sins are forgiven,” said Trump.
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