Trump administration House pushes negotiations with Harvard, expects deal by…: Report

The development came as Harvard — the country’s oldest and richest university — has been racking up wins in court as the Trump administration has frozen research funding and sought to block admissions of international students.

According to the report, Trump’s administration expects a deal to land by the end of the month, one official said, and hopes the agreement would make a big enough splash to “basically be a blueprint for the rest of higher education.” 

Harvard declined to comment on the report. However, a person close to the university told the Washington Post said Tuesday that Harvard will not compromise its values or its First Amendment rights.

On Friday, Trump said a deal could be announced “over the next week or so” to end a months-long battle with the Ivy League school, which sued after the administration terminated billions of dollars in grants and moved to bar the school from admitting international students.

Earlier, a federal judge, for the second time, allowed Harvard University to keep hosting foreign students.

US District Judge Allison Burroughs granted the university a preliminary injunction Monday that prevents the government from enacting a June 4 proclamation denying entry to international students planning to attend the school. 

The injunction extends an earlier temporary bar.

Trump’s proclamation prohibited foreign nationals from entering the US to study at Harvard or participate in exchange visitor programs for an initial period of six months, and directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to consider whether to revoke visas of international students already enrolled at Harvard.

President Trump has sought to cut off Harvard’s enrollment of foreign students as part of a pressure campaign seeking changes to governance and policies at the Ivy League school. 

Besides, administration officials also have cut more than $2.6 billion in research grants, ended federal contracts and threatened to revoke the tax-exempt status for the school Trump has derided as a hotbed of liberalism.

(With inputs from agencies)