U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to revoke Harvard University’s tax-exempt status after the institution refused to comply with sweeping policy changes mandated by the White House.
The move follows the administration’s decision on Monday to freeze $2.2 billion in federal funding allocated to Harvard, as part of an escalating standoff over what the government calls the need to restore accountability and order on university campuses.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump claimed that Harvard should “lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity” if it continues to reject federal directives. The changes reportedly include reforms to admissions policies, faculty governance, and student oversight.
“Tax-exempt status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST,” Trump wrote, suggesting that Harvard was failing to meet that standard by resisting government oversight.
Harvard President Alan Garber responded firmly in a letter to students and faculty, asserting that the university would not yield to pressure from Washington. “We will not negotiate over our independence or our constitutional rights,” Garber stated.
On Monday, Trump’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism announced the suspension of the $2.2 billion in long-term federal grants, as well as an additional freeze on $60 million in existing government contracts.
The task force criticized Harvard’s refusal to adopt proposed measures, which it says are designed to combat anti-Semitism and restore civil order on campuses.
