USD 500 million: What is THIS MEGA deal between Trump and Harvard? US President says, ‘Sins are forgiven…Trade schools to…’

The administration has been at a stand-off with some prominent universities, threatening to cut federal funds over issues such as pro-Palestinian protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.

There had been rising tensions between US President Donald Trump and the prestigious university Harvard for the past months. Recently, Trump has made a big statement regarding a deal. Earlier on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump stated that his administration was close to a deal with Harvard University, which involves a payment of $500 million by the Ivy League university after months of talks about school policies, reported Reuters.

USD 500 million: What is this MEGA deal?

The administration has been at a stand-off with some prominent universities, threatening to cut federal funds over issues such as pro-Palestinian protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, diversity efforts on campuses, and policies regarding transgender people. While speaking to the reporters at an event in the Oval Office, Trump stated,” We are in the process of getting very close.” “Linda is finishing up the final details,” he added, referring to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, as reported by Reuters.

Furthermore, he stated, “And they’ll be paying about $500 million and they’ll be operating trade schools. They’re going to be teaching people how to do AI and lots of other things, engines, lots of things.”

Why did President Trump say Harvard’s “sins are forgiven”?

Trump did not give many details on the agreement at this time, saying only that “It’s a big investment in trade school, done by very smart people. And then their sins are forgiven,” as reported by Newsweek.

Earlier, he had accused Harvard University and some other universities of allowing protests against anti-Semitism to take place on their grounds related to pro-Palestinian events. The Trump administration had also been in a couple of months-long fights with Harvard over the allocation of federal funding to the institution. Meanwhile, it is to be noted that Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Harvard had no immediate comment on Trump’s remarks.

As per the Bloomberg report, the conflict between Trump and the university has extended into the political sphere, increased scrutiny of its ties to China, and accusations of not supporting diversity. In addition to Harvard, three top American universities, including Columbia University, have also entered into agreements with the US government. Columbia University agreed in July 2025 to pay $220 million to restore federal research funding.