Harvard-Trump dispute deepens as US president threatens to remove tax exemption
US President Donald Trump has threatened Harvard University to take away its tax exemption and treat it as a political entity if the Ivy League school continues to defy his administration’s demands.
Trump attacked Harvard University on his Truth Social account on Tuesday and warned the school about its future funding.
“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?” … Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!” said Trump.
Trump’s harsh warning came a day after the Ivy League school rejected a number of his administration’s demands, including reporting foreign students for code violations and removing diversity, equity and inclusion measures.
A few hours after Harvard University rejected these demands, the Trump administration announced it had frozen $2.3 billion in federal funding to the school.
University President Alan Garber wrote in a letter addressed to the school's community that while some of the Trump administration's demands "are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the 'intellectual conditions' at Harvard."
That includes a demand to "audit" the views of the student body, faculty, and staff and "reduce the power" of certain individuals because of their ideological views.
"No government, regardless of which party is in power, should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue," said Garber.
The loss of federal funding is a significant blow to Harvard University and its affiliated institutions, including Boston Children’s Hospital and Mass General Brigham.
Other universities, such as Columbia University, have decided to accept the administration demands in order to avoid aggravating Trump further and losing more of their financial and political exemptions.
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