Trump seeks $US1b from Harvard University in damages

Trump's administration in December appealed a judge's ruling holding that it unlawfully terminated more than $US2 billion in grants ​awarded to Harvard and ‌can no longer cut off research funding to the Ivy ​League school.

Harvard has been a central focus ‍of the administration's broad campaign to leverage federal funding to force change at US ​universities, ​which Trump says ​are gripped by antisemitic and "radical ​left" ideologies.

Trump said last year that his administration was close to a deal with Harvard that would include a $US500 million payment by the university, after months of negotiations over school policies.

The US government last July settled its federal investigations with Columbia University, which agreed to pay more than $US220 million, and Brown University, which said it will pay $US50 million to support local workforce development. Both accepted certain government demands.