The president of Harvard on Wednesday defended the university’s decision to sue the Trump administration, adding that the institution “cannot compromise” on core principles like the First Amendment. Harvard took legal action against the Trump administration on Monday over the government’s decision to freeze over $2 billion in federal funding meant for the university after it refused to make the reforms it ordered.

The Trump administration appears open to negotiations with Harvard, even after America’s most prestigious university sued the federal government – setting up a clash over academic freedom, federal funding and campus oversight.

The elite research institution rejected a list of White House demands that it said would undermine its independence.