US President Donald Trump is threatening to cut another $1 billion in funding for Harvard University, this time targeting health research, Reuters quotes a Wall Street Journal report as saying, as the administration’s row with elite schools escalated.

The Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported the plans to pull an additional $1bn 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 yesterday.