President Donald Trump on Friday mentioned he would finish Harvard College’s tax-exempt standing, repeating a well-recognized risk to upend the Ivy League establishment’s funds.
“We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status. It’s what they deserve!” he wrote on Reality Social.
The declaration marks the most recent escalation in Trump’s warfare on Harvard and different elite universities, which he claims are rife with antisemitism and different types of discrimination. In actuality, the president is retaliating after Harvard rejected his administration’s sweeping set of calls for, together with that it ban masks, eradicate range packages in admissions and hiring, and impose ideological screenings for worldwide college students.
The administration has additionally frozen $2.2 billion in grants and a $60 million contract to the college. And Friday’s put up alerts Trump is able to push even additional till Harvard capitulates.
Trump hasn’t publicly detailed how he’ll revoke the college’s tax-exempt standing, however he floated the concept final month, and the IRS is reportedly getting ready to behave. The standing exempts Harvard from paying most taxes and permits donations to the establishment to be tax-deductible. Shedding the standing wouldn’t solely drive Harvard to pay way more in taxes—it may additionally chill donor contributions.
“There is no legal basis to rescind Harvard’s tax-exempt status,” a college spokesperson informed CNN. “Such an unprecedented action would endanger our ability to carry out our educational mission.”
“The unlawful use of this instrument more broadly would have grave consequences for the future of higher education in America,” the college added.
There’s rising stress on Harvard to lead a bigger resistance to Trump’s overreach. Consultants have urged universities to band collectively in defending themselves towards political interference from the Trump administration.
Harvard has already sued, submitting a authorized problem in April that calls the freeze on its funding unconstitutional and urges the courts to revive the frozen $2.2 billion. If the administration follows by on revoking the college’s tax-exempt standing, extra authorized battles are all however sure.
The college’s president has additionally signaled that Harvard received’t adjust to the White Home’s obscene calls for. Nonetheless, the college seems to be the administration’s prime goal. Along with the tax risk, Trump has mentioned Harvard may lose its skill to host worldwide college students if it doesn’t cave to him.
In latest days, Harvard has appeared to maneuver towards defusing tensions. It’ll rename its Workplace for Fairness, Range, Inclusion, and Belonging to “Community and Campus Life,” and it’ll reportedly reduce help for affinity group celebrations throughout graduation.
On Tuesday, the college additionally launched two inner experiences: one on antisemitism and one other on anti-Arab, anti-Muslim, and anti-Palestinian bias. The previous detailed cases of Jewish college students hiding their identities or taking go away on account of harassment. The latter reported that Muslim college students and workers felt unsafe on campus following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas warfare.
And on Wednesday, Harvard disclosed that it had shared legally required details about its worldwide college students with the Division of Homeland Safety, although it didn’t specify what knowledge was included.
A White Home official informed CNN these strikes had been a step in a “positive” course however finally inadequate.
“[T]here’s actually probably going to be additional funding being cut,” the official informed CNN.
In different phrases, there’s no appeasing Trump. Damned should you do, damned should you don’t—and Harvard is simply the most recent college caught within the crosshairs of his tradition warfare.
