A group of Democrats who attended Harvard are threatening to investigate the university should it cut a deal with President Donald Trump to restore federal funding, reports Axios.
The Ivy League school is reportedly considering paying the Trump administration $500 million to end its dispute with the White House, which would be seen as "part of a broader pattern of attempted interference ... in the governance of independent institutions," a group of House and Senate Democrats, led by Rep. Sam Liccardo, D-Calif., wrote in a letter.
Trump and his team have undertaken a broad campaign to leverage federal funding to force change at U.S. universities, which the Republican president says are gripped by antisemitic and "radical left" ideologies.
Columbia University last week said it will pay more than $200 million to the U.S. government in a settlement with the administration to resolve federal probes and have most of its suspended federal funding restored.
They also said that it "cannot be viewed in isolation" and would instead be seen as "part of a broader pattern of attempted interference ... in the governance of independent institutions."
"Any acquiescence to unjustified political threats would not only diminish Harvard's standing but also make it complicit in the erosion of fundamental democratic principles," they added.
Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., along with more than half a dozen House Democrats signed the letter.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.