Trump administration takes first steps to restore Harvard's funding, but
money isn't flowing yet
[September 12, 2025]
By COLLIN BINKLEY
WASHINGTON
(AP) — Harvard University says it has started receiving notices that
many federal grants halted by the Trump administration will be
reinstated after a federal judge ruled that the cuts were illegal.
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People take photos near a John Harvard statue, left, on the Harvard
University campus, Jan. 2, 2024, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven
Senne, File) |
It’s an early signal that federal research funding could begin
flowing to Harvard after months of deadlock with the White
House, but it’s yet to be seen if money will arrive. The
government has said it will appeal the judge’s decision.
Reinstatement notices have started arriving from several federal
agencies, but so far no payments have been received, Harvard
spokesperson Jason Newton said late Wednesday. “Harvard is
monitoring funding receipts closely,” Newton said.
A federal judge in Boston last week ordered the government to
reverse more than $2.6 billion in cuts, saying they were
unconstitutional and “used antisemitism as a smokescreen” for an
ideological attack.
The Trump administration started cutting federal research grants
from Harvard in April after the Ivy League school rebuffed a
list of wide-ranging demands from the government in a federal
investigation into campus antisemitism. Harvard challenged the
cuts in court, calling them illegal government retaliation.
Harvard has been President Donald Trump's top target in his
campaign to reshape higher education, which has resulted in
settlements with Columbia and Brown universities to end federal
investigations and restore federal money cut by the Trump
administration.
Trump has said he wants Harvard to pay no less than $500 million
as part any deal to restore funding. He reiterated the demand at
an August Cabinet meeting. “They’ve been very bad,” Trump told
Education Secretary Linda McMahon. “Don’t negotiate.”
Even as Harvard's lawsuit played out, both sides had been
negotiating the framework of an agreement that could end the
prolonged conflict. So far, such a deal has been elusive.
The government has opened numerous investigations against
Harvard and attempted an array of sanctions, including moves to
block the school from enrolling international students. A
federal judge blocked the move in June after Harvard sued.
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