Trump threatens to cut another $1 billion in Harvard funding, WSJ reports

US President Donald Trump is threatening to cut another $1 billion in funding for Harvard University, this time targeting health research, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, as the administration's row with elite schools escalated.

The Trump administration has withheld government funding from Harvard, Columbia and other universities in response to their tolerance of pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus.

Harvard pushed back last week, rejecting demands for control of its student body, faculty and curriculum, saying that would cede control of the university to government.

Within hours of Harvard taking its stand, the administration announced it was freezing $2.3 billion in federal funding to the school and the next day threatened to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status.

The Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported the plans to pull an additional $1 billion in research funds arose after administration officials thought a long list of demands they sent Harvard on April 11 was a confidential starting point for negotiations, and officials were surprised when Harvard released the letter to the public.

Trump officials had been planning to treat Harvard more leniently than Columbia but now want to increase the pressure on Harvard, the Journal reported.

The White House and Harvard did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Sunday.

Since his January inauguration, Trump has cracked down on top US universities, saying they mishandled last year's pro-Palestinian protests on campus. 

The administration had previously sent a list of demands on April 3 to Harvard for the Ivy League university to continue receiving federal funding. These included a mask ban, removal of diversity, equity and inclusion programmes, and more cooperation with law enforcement.

The April 11 letter, signed by officials at the Education Department, the Health and Human Services Department, and the General Services Administration, expanded that list. It told Harvard to stop recognising some pro-Palestinian groups and asked it to report to federal authorities foreign students violating university policies, among other demands.