President Donald Trump on Monday said he is now demanding Harvard University pay $1 billion in damages. File Photo by CJ Gunther/EPA-EFE
President Donald Trump late Monday said he is now seeking $1 billion in damages from Harvard University, as he lashed out at reports that his administration had dropped its demand for financial compensation from the Ivy League school.
“We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University,” Trump said on his Truth Social media platform.
Harvard has been a main target of the Trump administration in its effort to increase federal leverage over higher learning institutions in the United States, which the president has criticized for being allegedly dominated by left-leaning ideology.
Trump did not say what damages had been incurred or specified what the university had done. His administration was seeking $500 million, as well as reforms from the school, to end his pressure campaign, which included a freeze on more than $2 billion in funding, a civil rights investigation and regulatory changes, such as efforts to bar the admission of international students.
Then on Monday, The New York Times reported, citing unnamed Harvard and administration officials, that Trump no longer was seeking any monetary restitution
The Times report seemingly prompted Trump to make the escalated monetary demand, as he insulted both the newspaper and the acclaimed university.
“Harvard has been, for a long time, behaving very badly!,” Trump said late Monday in his statement.
“This should be a criminal, not Civil, event and Harvard will have to live with the consequences of their wrongdoings. In any event, this case will continue until justice is served.”
The Trump administration in October announced it was on the verge of making a deal with Harvard, with Education Secretary Linda McMahon stating they were “finishing up the final details” of the plan.
In December, the administration appealed a September court ruling that it unlawfully froze more than $2 billion in research funds for Harvard.
