Topline
President Donald Trump warned Harvard University on Tuesday it could lose its tax-exempt status after it refused to agree to a list of White House demands school administrators said blurred the lines of academic freedom—but it’s unclear whether he would have any power over that.
President Donald Trump, during a meeting with Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s president, in the Oval … More
Key Facts
Trump made the suggestion Tuesday on Truth Social, writing that “tax exempt status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!”
The warning comes after the Trump administration on Monday froze $2.2 billion in federal funding and a $60 million federal contract for the school when it refused to accept an agreement with the White House antisemitism task force investigating more than 60 colleges and universities’ handling of pro-Palestinian protests on their campuses.
The agreement “makes clear the intention is not to work with us to address antisemitism in a cooperative and constructive manner,” Harvard President Alan Garber wrote on the school’s website, adding “the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard.”
As non-profits with an educational mission, most public and private colleges and universities qualify for tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code.
The IRS oversees tax-exempt organizations’ compliance with the IRC and can revoke their status for a variety of reasons, including political campaign activity, lobbying and failing to meet annual reporting obligations.
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Key Background
The Trump administration accused Harvard in a letter last week of failing to “live up to both the intellectual and civil rights conditions that justify federal investment” and instructed it to adhere to a list of demands to continue receiving federal funding. The Trump administration said Harvard must implement “merit-based” hiring and admissions policies and “cease all preferences based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” The letter also instructs the university to “commission an external party” to audit “programs with egregious records of antisemitism or other bias” and to “immediately shutter” all diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, programs and policies. The university must also harden its student disciplinary procedures, including using “the Harvard police when necessary,” the letter states. Garber broadly rejected the terms of the letter, making Harvard the first university to refuse to comply with requirements stemming from the antisemitism task force investigations. The letter, “violates Harvard’s First Amendment rights and exceeds the statutory limits of the government’s authority under Title VI,” Garber wrote. He said the university has “taken many steps to address antisemitism on our campus” over the past 15 months and plans to “do much more.”
Crucial Quote
Stanford University President Jonathan Levin and Provost Jenny Martinez applauded Harvard for resisting the Trump administration’s demands in a statement to The Stanford Daily. “Harvard’s objections to the letter it received are rooted in the American tradition of liberty, a tradition essential to our country’s universities, and worth defending,” they wrote. Stanford is among multiple universities the Trump administration is threatening to withhold federal funding for if it does not make changes to various programs and policies.
Tangent
The Trump administration has threatened federal funding for multiple colleges and universities unless they agrees to make changes on issues varying from transgender inclusion and protest policies to security practices and educational programs. Columbia University agreed last month to hire a new security force, adopt a new definition of antisemitism and overhaul its Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies Department to recoup $400 million in federal funding and contracts the Trump administration froze over its handling of pro-Palestinian protests.
Further Reading
Columbia Agrees To Trump Administration’s Demands After Losing $400 Million In Federal Funds (Forbes)
Trump Administration Freezes $2.2 Billion In Harvard Federal Funding After University Refuses To Comply With Demands (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/04/15/trump-suggests-revoking-harvards-tax-exempt-status-after-school-rejects-his-demands/