Trump Says $500M Deal With Harvard to Unfreeze Federal Grants is ‘Close’

The Trump administration in March froze $2.4 billion in federal grants to the Ivy League university.

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House

Alex Brandon/AP

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that his administration is “getting very close” to a $500 million deal with Harvard University to reverse more than $2 billion in frozen grants.

“I guess we reached a deal with Harvard. All you have to do is paper it, right Linda?” Trump asked Education Secretary Linda McMahon during a press event in the Oval Office. “It’ll be great.”

“They’ll be paying about $500 million, and they’ll be operating trade schools,” the president continued. “They’ll be teaching people how to do AI and lots of other things. Engines, lots of things.”