Trump threatens Harvard’s tax-exempt status after university defies sweeping White House demands
Former President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to Harvard University on Tuesday, April 15, threatening to revoke its tax-exempt status and begin taxing it as a political entity after the school refused to comply with sweeping changes ordered by the White House.
This dramatic escalation follows Trump’s decision on Monday, April 14, to freeze $2.2 billion in federal funding, including a halt to $60 million in government contracts, as retaliation for what the administration described as Harvard’s resistance to reforms aimed at cracking down on campus antisemitism.
The Trump administration’s demands—first outlined in a letter on April 3—include shutting down university diversity offices, tightening international student screenings, and overhauling governance, hiring, and admissions policies.
Trump took to Truth Social to express his frustration, writing:
“Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity.”
He argued that Harvard’s tax-exempt status is “totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST.”
Harvard president Alan Garber, in a letter addressed to students and faculty, responded defiantly, stating:
“We will not negotiate over our independence or our constitutional rights.”
The standoff represents the sharpest clash yet between the Trump administration and one of America’s most prestigious universities, raising serious concerns over academic freedom, federal overreach, and the future of higher education policy in the U.S.
The White House’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, which issued the federal funding freeze, has accused Harvard of failing to address a “culture of hostility” on campus and has made the university a symbolic target in a broader campaign against perceived liberal bias in elite academic institutions.
With billions of dollars and Harvard’s autonomy on the line, the battle appears far from over—and could set legal and political precedents with national implications.
