Trump administration seeking $1bn "in damages" from Harvard University over antisemitism accusations

The Trump administration is seeking $1 billion (€0.85bn) "in damages" from Harvard University over accusations of antisemitism, Donald Trump announced on 03/02/2026.

The US President was reacting to a New York Times article saying that the administration had to backtrack from its demand for a $200m payment in negotiations with the university. "Strongly antisemitic Harvard University has been feeding a lot of 'nonsense' to The Failing New York Times," he said on his social media Truth.

"They wanted to do a convoluted job training concept, but it was turned down because it was wholly inadequate and would not have been, in our opinion, successful. It was merely a way of Harvard getting out of a large cash settlement of more than $500m, a number that should be much higher for the serious and heinous illegalities that they have committed," Trump said.

The negotiation is part of a series of financial and policy demands the Trump administration has been making to US universities to settle investigations over antisemitism, mainly related to student protests against the war in Gaza in 2024…