Ed Sec McMahon says Harvard negotiations nearing completion: 'We are getting close'
The Trump administration appears to be close to finalizing a deal to restore nearly $3 billion in federal research funding to Harvard University after freezing the grants earlier this year.
After months of legal battles and public scrutiny, Harvard University is close to securing a deal with the Trump administration to regain nearly $3 billion in suspended federal research funding.
”They’re ongoing negotiations and I feel very comfortable that we are getting close to having those negotiations finalized,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said at a Thursday press briefing, The Boston Globe reports.
The funding was frozen earlier this year after the administration cited rising antisemitism on campus and the university’s refusal to comply with federal demands targeting DEI initiatives and protest policies.
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In response, Harvard filed suit, and a federal judge ruled the freeze violated the university’s First Amendment and due process rights.
The administration’s conditions included dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, adopting merit-based hiring and admissions, banning protest masks, and tracking all disciplinary actions tied to antisemitism since Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel.
Rather than backing down, the administration doubled down, signaling to elite universities nationwide that federal dollars would now come with strings attached.
While Harvard continues to claim it has addressed antisemitism internally, the school now appears ready to compromise to regain access to billions in research grants.
The negotiations mark a pivotal moment in the Trump administration’s broader campaign to remake higher education, using federal funding leverage to push elite schools away from ideological activism and toward academic neutrality.
