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 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.

Harvard University is the suing the US government over its plan to block up to $9bn of government research grants to the institution