Trump drops demand for cash from Harvard after stiff resistance

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump has backtracked on a major point in negotiations with Harvard University, dropping his administration’s demand for a US$200 million (S$254 million) payment to the government in hopes of finally resolving the administration’s conflicts with the university, according to four people briefed on the matter.

Harvard has been the top target

in Mr Trump’s sweeping campaign to exert more control over higher education. Hard-liners in his administration had wanted Harvard to write a check to the US Treasury as part of a deal to address claims that university officials mishandled anti-semitism, The New York Times previously reported. But Harvard, wary of backlash from liberal students and faculty, has rejected the idea.