More elite institutions will begin making concessions to the Trump administration as the president strengthens his position via new legislation and increasing influence over the courts, according to experts.

Harvard University ¨C?which was praised for?leading the ¡°fightback¡± against ¡°overreach¡± by Donald Trump?¨C is reportedly in discussions to make a deal that could finally?end its months-long dispute with the president.

The move comes as Trump passed his ¡°big, beautiful bill¡± that includes measures to?hike taxes on the endowments of the wealthiest universities. The Supreme Court has also cracked down on lower-level judges?blocking the president¡¯s orders, restricting universities¡¯ ability to use the courts to fend off attacks.

Ryan Enos, professor of government at Harvard, told?ÌÇÐÄVlog?that it was ¡°almost inevitable¡±?that more and more institutions will try to appease the Trump administration as times goes on.

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¡°This is how authoritarians win: they make it hard on individuals to pay the cost of resistance.?

But he said that ¡°to avoid the eventual capitulation of free society to Trump¡¯s attacks, institutions must publicly and collectively commit themselves to resistance and commit to not, under any circumstances, negotiate?away their rights.¡±

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The White House also recently agreed to restore $175 million (?129 million) in federal grants to the University of Pennsylvania after it made concessions around trans athletes.

Jonathan Zimmerman, professor of the history of education at Penn,?.

¡°Even though I¡¯m critical of Penn for caving, I understand that we are in a very real way depending on these dollars,¡± he told?THE.

¡°Penn also has a $23 billion endowment so it¡¯s a little hard to shed a tear for Penn¡­I guess I¡¯m more?worried about universities that are less wealthy than we are.¡±

Last week, Penn removed trans swimmer Lia Thomas¡¯ individual swimming records and promised to apologise to athletes who may have lost to her.

Zimmerman praised the university¡¯s president, Larry Jameson, for ¡°stepping up to the plate¡± in the fight against Trump but ultimately warned that the administrator ¡°struck out¡± by conceding to demands and engaged in ¡°rhetorical and cynical compliance¡±.

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In a statement, Jameson noted that Penn was following the law when it let Thomas compete for the women¡¯s team but said that others might have been ¡°disadvantaged¡± by this.

¡°Just consider the fact that he apologised for following the law, what could be more cynical than that?¡±, said Zimmerman.

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¡°We¡¯re not apologising because we believe we did something wrong. We¡¯re apologising to save our skin, and that¡¯s the heart of cynicism.¡±

Andrew Moran, professor of politics and international relations at London Metropolitan University, said higher education was entering a new stage in the fight against a White House, which has shown no sign of backing down on its approach to elite universities.

¡°It fits both with their attacks on elites, which is popular with their supporters, and their aggressive pursuit of a culture war that is seeking to reshape what is meant by the American experience, whether that is attacks on minorities or influencing what is taught in American educational institutions, including both universities and schools.

¡°It is also a useful media distraction if the administration is not succeeding elsewhere.¡±

Trump¡¯s attacks on media companies have already led to a form of compromise, with out-of-court settlements part-funding his presidential library, and many law firms have agreed to do pro bono work for the administration.

¡°For universities, it is not just the attacks on their curriculums and diversity programmes, it is also the fact that the administration¡¯s increasingly aggressive immigration policies are reducing the number of international students who want to study in the US, which is having a significant impact on income,¡± said Moran.

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He also warned that the courts ¨C seen by some as a potential saviour from threats to higher education ¨C are increasingly losing their ability to enforce their decisions, and that judges become increasingly conservative as cases work their way up the court system.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com