President Donald Trump said on Tuesday his administration is close to finalizing a deal with Harvard University, in an agreement that would potentially defuse one of the highest-profile fights between his administration and U.S. higher education.

“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,” Trump said.

The university had signaled last month that they were open to investing roughly that amount in workforce programs as part of a deal with the administration, Bloomberg previously reported.

“All you have to do is paper it,” Trump said to Education Secretary Linda McMahon during an executive order signing in the Oval Office.

The president did not specify whether an agreement would include an independent monitor, a form of oversight that Columbia University agreed to in its own settlement with the administration — but which has been a sticking point for Harvard in its talks.

Harvard didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Harvard and the administration have been locked in a months-long standoff over billions of dollars of federal funding to the Ivy League institution. While Trump initially accused Harvard of failing to tackle antisemitism on campus following Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel, the fight broadened to include allegations of political bias, scrutiny of its ties to China and opposition to diversity efforts.

Trump has previously said that the two sides were close to a settlement. In June he said that a deal could be announced in a week, describing it as “‘mindbogglingly’ HISTORIC, and very good for our Country.”

Harvard this month scored a significant legal victory when a judge said the government violated the university’s free speech rights by cutting off more than $2 billion in research funding. The administration said it would appeal that ruling.

Soon after, $46 million in previously suspended funds began flowing back to the Harvard.

Still, the two side have continued to negotiate over a settlement, and in recent weeks the White House has ramped up the pressure on the university.

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it was referring Harvard for administrative suspension and debarment proceedings, a move that would exclude the school from entering into contracts with all government agencies or receiving any federal funding, including research grants and student aid.

Trump’s assault on the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based school sparked a national debate about academic freedom, ideological diversity on campuses, the use of race in admissions and hiring and the role of government in supporting higher education and research.

In his Tuesday remarks, Trump said “we have a good chance” of getting a deal with Harvard finalized.

Payments to trade schools have become a point of common ground in dealmaking between the White House and elite colleges over suspended research funding. Brown University agreed to pay $50 million to vocational programs in its home state of Rhode Island as part of an agreement to restore federal funding in July.

“It’s a big investment in trade school, done by very smart people, and then their sins are forgiven,” Trump said.

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With assistance from Janet Lorin and Josh Wingrove.

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