Althouse: "Harvard University has signaled a willingness to meet the Trump administration’s demand to spend as much as $500 million to end its dispute with the White House..."

July 28, 2025

"Harvard University has signaled a willingness to meet the Trump administration’s demand to spend as much as $500 million to end its dispute with the White House..."

"... as talks between the two sides intensify, four people familiar with the negotiations said.... The sum sought by the government, which recently accused Harvard of civil rights violations, is more than twice as much as the $200 million fine that Columbia University said it would pay when it settled antisemitism claims with the White House last week. Neither Harvard nor the government has publicly detailed potential terms for a settlement and what allegations the money would be intended to resolve.... ... Harvard is also skeptical of Columbia’s agreement to allow an outside monitor to oversee its sweeping arrangement with the government. Harvard officials have signaled that such a requirement for their own settlement could be a redline as a potential infringement on the university’s academic freedom...."

From "Harvard Is Said to Be Open to Spending Up to $500 Million to Resolve Trump Dispute/The sum sought by the government is more than twice as much as the $200 million fine that Columbia University said it would pay when it settled its clash with the White House last week" (NYT).

25 comments:

Hassayamper said...: I don’t want them to settle. Bring the lawsuit in Wyoming on behalf of some Asian valedictorian with a 1600 SAT score who was rejected on the basis of nebulous “collegiality” bullshit used behind the scenes for explicit racial quota-mongering. Discovery will be something to savor. Hammer them with punitive damages ten times bigger than this, and criminally prosecute every college administrator found to be in violation of civil rights law.

Alinsky taught us: Hurt the individual, not the institution. I want to see some smug purple-haired DEI educrats stripped of everything they own and sent to prison for a decade.; 7/28/25, 6:05 PM
Dave Begley said...: Wondering if anyone will be fired at Harvard. How could the administrators be so stupid to allow such blatant civil rights violations to continue? And will Harvard fix its corrupt admissions system? Or will some Mideastern country cover this payment?

Must be nice to be able to spend $500m of other people's money to make a problem, created by the employees, just go away.

It is to the good, however, to at least see the cash payment and the humiliation of Harvard at the hands of Trump.; 7/28/25, 6:10 PM
Aggie said...: "...Harvard is also skeptical of Columbia’s agreement to allow an outside monitor to oversee its sweeping arrangement with the government. Harvard officials have signaled that such a requirement for their own settlement could be a redline as a potential infringement on the university’s academic freedom...."

Now, I find that interesting. So, overt racial prejudice in admissions is protected as part of Academic Freedom? Are the academies free to claim this as a right? Let's explore and discuss this at length - but after discovery, and in front of a judge.; 7/28/25, 6:20 PM
n.n said...: DEIsm.; 7/28/25, 6:24 PM
Jimmy said...: our so called elite universities have institutionalized hate. Hate for white people, especially white males. hate for Jews, and Christians. Hate for America.
So Columbia paid a fine, and now Harvard most likely will do the same.
No one will be held responsible at either institution.
The money they use to pay for the 'fine' will be money we already sent them. Then when they are all paid up, we give them more of our money, so they can continue to do the same thing, but just do it quieter , at least until the communists are back in power.
What a dog and pony show this is. We send them money, when they already have billions tax free endowments.
They break laws, kill free speech, indoctrinate students to hate Jews and Love Muslims. We catch them, and they use our money to pay the fine.
Then we pay them more money. Make it make sense. IT DOESN"T.
Racist bigoted professors and admin need to be held accountable. Fired, or better yet jailed.
but that ain't gonna happen. The legal system , as usual, as a set of rules for elites, and a set for us peasants.; 7/28/25, 6:29 PM
traditionalguy said...: Danegeld paid to The boy from Queens. That must have torqued them good.; 7/28/25, 6:34 PM
traditionalguy said...: NB: Danegeld was a payoff made to the Viking raiders for peace, and Donald Trump is a Viking descendant through his mother’s line. The Vikings ruled northern Scotland for over 400 years. Their leaders were called Lairds. Ergo Trump is now the Laird over Harvard.; 7/28/25, 6:40 PM
Jupiter said...: Much as I hate Harvard, this is just government getting bigger. I would prefer to see the pompous poseurs at Harvard free to operate their grift however they like, but without government funding. I don't want to see the Civil Rights Act enforced even-handedly. I want to see the sickening fucking thing repealed, and freedom of association and the right to private property restored.; 7/28/25, 6:44 PM
Tina Trent said...: I see where you're coming from, Jupiter. But there is great medical and scientific work done by a few honest people in these schools.

Rescind their tax-free status. Set up well-funded, strictly funded schools for serious STEM workers.

Leave them to rot in their crepuscular demise.; 7/28/25, 6:52 PM
Leland said...: If this was a corporation with the size and financial portfolio of Harvard that openly discriminated against whole sectors of the population; the left would demand more than a half billion, and the payment wouldn’t absolve them of the sin committed.; 7/28/25, 7:46 PM
Achilles said...: Trump should just burn Harvard to the ground and salt the earth where is stood.; 7/28/25, 8:04 PM
tommyesq said...: But there is great medical and scientific work done by a few honest people in these schools.

Not so sure this is true - a shocking amount is unable to be reproduced by other researchers or has been found to be outright fraudulent. I doubt Harvard's recent record is much better than generic State U.; 7/28/25, 8:11 PM
Achilles said...: Jupiter said...
Much as I hate Harvard, this is just government getting bigger. I would prefer to see the pompous poseurs at Harvard free to operate their grift however they like, but without government funding. I don't want to see the Civil Rights Act enforced even-handedly. I want to see the sickening fucking thing repealed, and freedom of association and the right to private property restored.

This would be a second best solution.; 7/28/25, 8:13 PM
Left Bank of the Charles said...: It’s extortion but, measured in terms of Harvard’s average endowment returns, $500 million sets Harvard back about 5 weeks. It would be worth it to get out from under the disruption and uncertainty, even though most of the actions being taken or threatened by the Trump administration are being found to be unlawful.; 7/28/25, 8:15 PM
Left Bank of the Charles said...: I wonder how much of the $500 million Trump will be putting into a victim compensation fund. My guess, $0.; 7/28/25, 8:18 PM
Old and slow said...: Do you ever get tired of the bombast Achilles? I mostly agree with you, but you don't strengthen your point with silly hyperbole.; 7/28/25, 8:31 PM
Goldenpause said...: Harvard is getting a crash course in risk management 1.01.; 7/28/25, 9:13 PM
effinayright said...: Left Bank of the Charles said...
I wonder how much of the $500 million Trump will be putting into a victim compensation fund. My guess, $0.
************

Oh, I get it: your innuendo is that he will put that money into his own pocket.

Amirite, Left Back?

But you've obviously stepped on a rake by implicitly acknowledging there were "victims" from Harvard's civil rights and free-speech violations.

Congrats on your "own goal"!; 7/28/25, 9:23 PM
Kakistocracy said...: That an administration led by the founder of Trump University would challenge Harvard's accreditation is beyond comical and tragic at the same time.; 7/28/25, 9:34 PM
Mr. T. said...: Kak/Richsockpuppet- kindly cease copypasta all your posts from Common Dreams and Mother Jones. Not only does it make you, as usual, a dumbass hack, but also a serial plagiarist. Especially about Harvard. That's soooooo [Claudine] Gay!; 7/29/25, 12:07 AM
Achilles said...: Kakistocracy said...
That an administration led by the founder of Trump University would challenge Harvard's accreditation is beyond comical and tragic at the same time.

What is comical is that you don't realize nobody thinks any of you are actually smart anymore.

The average IQ of college graduates has dropped 20 points in the last few decades. Leftists took over the colleges and turned into a place where dumb people get dumb degrees.; 7/29/25, 12:18 AM
Tina Trent said...: Tommyesq: you're not wrong, but it's easy as pie to separate the wheat from the chaff, to mangle metaphors.; 7/29/25, 3:11 AM
Kakistocracy said...: Maybe the leadership at Harvard should take the free course on the Constitution they offer.; 7/29/25, 6:29 AM
JAORE said...: "But there is great medical and scientific work done by a few honest people in these schools." Even presuming this is true, why would anyone think the research dollars (and the "honest" researchers would not move elsewhere?
I taught a course involving hiring/training and retention for a Federal agency years ago. A simple question I heard more than once was, "If the racism is found in X department, why pull funds/fine the whole enterprise?"
Fungible... it's a word the left tries not to understand.; 7/29/25, 9:38 AM
Tina Trent said...: Good scientists at Harvard saved my father and brother's lives. But that was another time.

And their work on children's heart surgeries have saved many, many lives.

To be fair, much as I revile the meddling leftitarian Kochs, I give them all credit for funding huge advances in robotic surgery and testicular cancer, which killed David Koch, slowly and horribly.

Interestingly, they set up their research primarily at USF, raising the institution's reputation as something other than a party school. This seems like a good model: donate funds throughout the country to cheap state schools for a handful of projects that will elevate each school as a base for that research. Have a thyroid school, a heart school, a colon cancer school, a transplant school, a breast cancer school -- all at places less expensive than Harvard.

Amusingly, the one time I met the Kochs (geez I miss those fist-sized shrimp and perfect fois gras), I met a billionaire oil baron who singled me out (from the whores). I had spent all day undercover in 100 degree humidity and heat monitoring anti-cop groups. He wore boots and a cowboy hat and Senators kissed his ass. I told him I'd infiltrated Code Pink and ANTIFA and that's why I was sweaty. He literally slapped his knees with his hat, laughing, and invited me to work for him. Wish I had. He was bored by all this politics, he said. He also said the Kochs were full of crap except for that good work they were doing on that penis cancer thing.

Damn, I make bad career choices.; 7/29/25, 4:17 PM