Trump goes after Harvard’s tax-exempt status as standoff escalates

On Tuesday, President Trump warned Harvard University that it could lose its tax-exempt status. This is because it replied to a list of White House demands as blurring the lines of academic freedom.

Trump said, “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?”

The White House wants the oldest university in the US to change how it hires, admissions, and teaches. The White House says this will help fight antisemitism on campus. Since taking office again, Trump has used threats to change the way top universities work by threatening to take away government funds that are mostly used for research.

On Monday, Harvard was the first big university in the US to say no to the White House’s demands. It said that the White House was trying to “control” its community.

Harvard says that it will protect its free speech

The federal government sent a letter to Harvard on Friday. The letter said that Harvard had not met the “intellectual and civil rights conditions” that support federal investment.

The letter listed 10 types of changes the administration wanted, such as telling the government about students who are “hostile” to American values. The government also wants the school to make sure that every school area has a “viewpoint diverse.”

In addition, Trump’s administration demanded hiring a third party allowed by the government to check the programs and departments “that most fuel antisemitic harassment.” 

During last year’s protests on college campuses across the country against the war in Gaza and US backing for Israel, President Trump said that top universities did not do enough to protect Jewish students. The letter tells the university what to do about “violations” that happened during the protests.

In response, President Alan Garber said the university would not give up its independence or the First Amendment rights protecting free speech. He said, “Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard.”

Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions – rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and… https://t.co/gAu9UUqgjF

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 15, 2025

Former President Obama praised the school, saying that Harvard was doing what all schools should do when the federal government goes too far. However, Harvard could lose millions of dollars every year if they lose the exemption

Harvard filed a lawsuit against Trump’s administration

The education department told Harvard it would not be getting any more than $2.2 billion in funds or $60 million in contracts.

The Harvard faculty chapter of the American Association of University Professors and the national organization filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. The professors also asked for a temporary restraining order to stop the government from cutting off Harvard’s federal funding.

The lawsuit says that the end of government funding “is imminent.” It points out that the Trump administration has already cut funding to other colleges and universities, including Columbia University, which was the first college to be targeted with $400 million in cuts.

Since March, the Trump administration has been looking over about $256 million in federal grants and contracts at Harvard. It has also looked into another $8.7 billion in multi-year grant agreements. This shows that if they don’t act, they could lose their funding as well.

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