As a real-estate mogul, Trump long ago perfected the art of imposing his will through aggressive — and expensive — legal maneuvering. But no one else has ever really used it as president.

Trump, who has halted billions in research grants to a slew of schools, has said he envisions the Columbia deal as the first of many such agreements. His education secretary, Linda McMahon, called it a blueprint for other institutions to follow.

According to the WSJ's exclusive, the Trump administration has placed Duke on a short list of universities that may be required to make financial concessions to get federal funding.

Columbia win has paved the way for Trump team to elecit hundreds of millions from other top schools, including Cornell, Brown, Duke and Northwestern

Columbia professors sent a letter to the university's president outlining items that should be included in a deal with the White House.

U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon told ABC News she is “incredibly pleased” with the $220 million deal with Columbia University after months of negotiations.

Ultimately, we win that case. And the bottom line is we’re not going to give any more money to Harvard,” President Trump said.

Columbia University agreed to the Trump administration’s demands. Education Secretary Linda McMahon called it “a monumental victory for conservatives.”