 "'Harvard should lose its tax exempt status': Trump escalates threat against elite university after $2bn funding freeze")
Hours after Trump administration announced it is freezing more than $2 billion in federal funds for Harvard University after the Ivy League school refused to cave in to administration’s demands, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the elite institution “should lose its tax exempt status” and be taxed as a political entity.
The White House has called on the United States’ oldest university to overhaul its hiring, admissions, and teaching practices, claiming the changes are necessary to combat antisemitism.
Since returning to office, President Trump has sought to reshape elite academic institutions by threatening to cut federal research funding.
According to a BBC report, Harvard became the first major university to reject the Trump administration’s demands on Monday, accusing the White House of attempting to “control” its academic community.
In a social media post Tuesday morning, Trump escalated his threat against Harvard, warning he may go beyond withholding federal funds and target the university’s tax-exempt status.
“Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting “Sickness?” he wrote on Truth Social.
“Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!” he added.
Most universities, including Harvard, are exempt from federal income taxes because they are classified as providing a public good. This valuable tax break, though, can be removed if the groups become involved in political activities or move away from their stated purposes.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsLosing its tax-exempt status could cost Harvard millions annually.
The White House’s sweeping demands, outlined in a letter obtained by The New York Times, would have significantly altered Harvard’s operations and handed substantial control to the federal government.
The letter accused Harvard of failing to meet the “intellectual and civil rights conditions” tied to federal funding and listed 10 proposed reforms, including, reporting students deemed “hostile” to American values; ensuring academic departments reflect “viewpoint diversity”; hiring a government-approved auditor to review programmes allegedly fueling antisemitic harassment; checking faculty for plagiarism.
President Trump has criticised elite universities for not protecting Jewish students during last year’s pro-Palestinian campus protests. The letter also orders disciplinary action for violations tied to those demonstrations.
Harvard President Alan Garber rejected the demands, stating the university will not compromise its independence or give up its First Amendment right to free speech.
“Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard,” BBC quoted Garber as writing in a letter.
Soon after Harvard’s defiant response, the US Department of Education announced it was immediately freezing $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to the university.
In a statement, the department criticised Harvard’s stance, calling it emblematic of the “troubling entitlement mindset” prevalent at elite institutions.
It added that the ongoing campus disruptions and harassment of Jewish students were “unacceptable” and “intolerable.”
In March, the Trump administration began reviewing $256 million in active federal contracts and $8.7 billion in multi-year grant commitments at Harvard.
In response, Harvard professors filed a lawsuit, accusing the government of unlawfully targeting free speech and academic freedom.
With a $53 billion endowment, Harvard is among several elite universities under scrutiny.
Last month, Columbia University agreed to White House demands after $400 million in federal funding was pulled.
Meanwhile, the White House on Tuesday said President Trump wants Harvard to apologise for what his administration insists is the university’s tolerance of anti-Semitism.
Trump “wants to see Harvard apologise. And Harvard should apologise,” AFP quoted Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt as saying to journalists on Tuesday.
With inputs from agencies
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