White House pauses talks with Harvard as university continues to face fund cut threats, says report — What we know

The talks between Harvard University and the White House have paused, a report said on Monday, as threat loomed over the Ivy League school's funds and the future of its foreign students.

As per a Bloomberg report quoting an unnamed person familiar with the matter, the stalling of talks threatens a quick resolution of the ongoing standoff between Harvard University and President Donald Trump's administration.

Citing private discussions, the source told Bloomberg that a potential deal was knocked off course last week but assured that hopes still remain for an accord between the two parties.

Harvard or the Trump administration have not said anything publicly yet.

The pause in the talks suggests that a wide gap remains between Harvard and the White House. This comes less than two weeks after President Donald Trump praised the university as acting “extremely appropriately during these negotiations”, adding that a deal could be reached soon.\

Earlier this month, Education Secretary Linda McMahon had told Bloomberg that the Trump administration would be open to restoring grants and fundings if satisfactory agreements were made with universities.

The Trump administration on Monday accused Harvard of violating the civil rights of its Jewish and Israeli students and threatened to cut off all federal funding if the university does not take urgent action.

In a letter sent to the president of Harvard, a federal task force accused it of failing to protect the students during campus protests against Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.

Following an investigation, the task force concluded that "Harvard has been in some cases deliberately indifferent, and in others has been a willful participant in anti-Semitic harassment of Jewish students, faculty, and staff," according to the letter.

The school said it strongly disagreed with the government's findings as it “has taken substantive, proactive steps to address the root causes of antisemitism in its community.”