Trump insists Harvard Uni to return relief money intended for small business amid COVID-19

United States President Donald Trump at the White House press briefing on Tuesday said that he would personally ask Harvard University to return USD 8.6 million in funds it allegedly received from the federal government as a part of the small businesses bailout through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Harvard University said that it has planned on using the money to assist its student body with financial assistance amid the pandemic and not to make up for the losses it incurred due to the crisis, the university has drawn criticism for its acceptance of the aid in the first place despite having over USD 40 billion in endowment.

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“Harvard is actually allocating 100% of the funds to financial assistance for students to meet their urgent needs in the face of this pandemic,” says the statement from Harward University.

Speaking over the issue Donald Trump said that he will insist Harward to return the money

"I'm going to request it," Trump said. "Harvard's going to pay back the money. They shouldn't be taking it. You have a number of other, I'm not going to mention any names, but when I saw Harvard, they have one of the largest endowments anywhere in the country, maybe in the world, I guess. And they're going to pay back that money," Trump said in the Coronavirus Task Force press brief.

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Son of the US President who handles the Trump family business, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted that Harvard was getting cash that should have gone to “a small business that actually needs the money.”