Trump administration wants Harvard to pay far more than Columbia as part
of settlement
[July 30, 2025]
By COLLIN BINKLEY
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is pressing for a deal with
Harvard University that would require the Ivy League school to pay far
more than the $200 million fine agreed to by Columbia University to
resolve multiple federal investigations, according to two people
familiar with the matter.
Harvard would be expected to pay hundreds of millions of dollars as part
of any settlement to end investigations into antisemitism at its campus,
said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss
internal deliberations. Harvard leaders have been negotiating with the
White House even as they battle in court to regain access to billions in
federal research funding terminated by the Trump administration.
The White House’s desire to get Harvard to pay far more than Columbia
was first reported by The New York Times, which said the school has
signaled a willingness to pay as much as $500 million.
Harvard did not immediately comment.
The Trump administration plans to use its deal with Columbia as a
template for other universities, with financial penalties that are now
seen as a staple for future agreements. Last week, Columbia leaders
agreed to pay $200 million as part of a settlement to resolve
investigations into alleged violations of federal antidiscrimination
laws and restore more than $400 million in research grants.
Columbia had been in talks for months after the Trump administration
accused the university of allowing the harassment of Jewish students and
employees amid a wave of campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war.
Harvard faces similar accusations but, unlike Columbia, the Cambridge,
Massachusetts, school challenged the administration’s funding cuts and
subsequent sanctions in court.
Last week, President Donald Trump said Harvard “wants to settle” but he
said Columbia “handled it better.”
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The Trump administration’s emphasis on financial penalties adds a
new dimension for colleges facing federal scrutiny. In the past,
civil rights investigations by the Education Department almost
always ended with voluntary agreements and rarely included fines.
Even when the government has levied fines, they’ve been a small
fraction of the scale Trump is seeking. Last year, the Education
Department fined Liberty University $14 million after finding the
Christian school failed to disclose crimes on its campus. It was the
most the government had ever fined a university under the Clery Act,
following a $4.5 million fine dealt to Michigan State University in
2019 for its handling of sexual assault complaints against disgraced
sports doctor Larry Nassar.
The University of Pennsylvania agreed this month to modify school
records set by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, but that school’s
deal with the Trump administration included no fine.
The Trump administration has opened investigations at dozens of
universities over allegations of antisemitism or racial
discrimination in the form of diversity, equity and inclusion
policies. Several face funding freezes akin to those at Harvard,
including more than $1 billion at Cornell University and $790
million at Northwestern University.
Last week, Education Secretary Linda McMahon called the Columbia
deal a “roadmap” for other colleges, saying it would “ripple across
the higher education sector and change the course of campus culture
for years to come.”
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