Harvard University is close to a deal with the Trump administration that would require the Ivy League school to pay $500 million to regain access to federal funding and end ongoing investigations, according to a person familiar with the matter.

While the framework remains under discussion with significant gaps to close, both sides have agreed on the payment amount, and a settlement could be finalised in the coming weeks, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Harvard declined to comment.

The agreement would conclude a months-long battle testing the limits of federal authority over US universities. What began as a probe into campus antisemitism escalated into a wider feud after the administration cut more than $2.6 billion in research funding, terminated federal contracts, and sought to block Harvard from hosting international students.

Harvard filed two lawsuits accusing the administration of illegal retaliation after rejecting demands it said threatened academic freedom. Details of the proposed settlement were first reported by The New York Times.

If finalised, the $500 million payment would be the largest yet in the administration’s efforts to secure financial penalties from elite universities. Columbia University previously agreed to pay $200 million to restore federal funding, while Brown University agreed to pay $50 million to Rhode Island workforce development groups. The destination of Harvard’s potential payment has not been determined, the source said.

President Trump has pushed to overhaul prestigious universities he calls “bastions of liberal ideology,” targeting Harvard more than any other. The school, the wealthiest in the US, has an endowment valued at $53 billion.

More than a dozen Harvard alumni in Congress, all Democrats, warned the university on Aug. 1 that settling could trigger “rigorous Congressional oversight and enquiry.” They argued that yielding to political demands would set a “dangerous precedent” for higher education nationwide.

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With inputs from Associated Press