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Trump again threatens Harvard's tax-exempt status, saying, 'It's what they deserve!'

People gather to take photos with the John Harvard statue at Harvard University. President Trump made another threat to Harvard's tax-exempt status in a social media post on Friday.
Sophie Park
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Getty Images
People gather to take photos with the John Harvard statue at Harvard University. President Trump made another threat to Harvard's tax-exempt status in a social media post on Friday.

On Friday, President Trump again threatened to revoke Harvard University's tax-exempt status.

"We are going to be taking away Harvard's Tax Exempt Status. It's what they deserve!" Trump .

His comments marked the latest volley in a battle between the Trump administration and the wealthiest college in the world.

Trump first suggested revoking the school's nonprofit tax status in April, when he wrote on : "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 administration claims the university has failed to protect Jewish students on campus and had sent it said must be met, or the university would risk losing some $9 billion in federal funding. Harvard's president, saying they were illegal and an intolerable attempt to dictate "what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue." In response, the government in federal funding.

Nearly all colleges and universities are tax-exempt organizations. They are given nonprofit status along with charities, religious institutions and some political organizations.

That's part of the reason some elite, U.S. institutions have been able to amass huge endowments. Harvard has the .

Republicans have long sought to curb the tax exemptions in higher education. In 2017, Congress , which impacted many of the nation's elite institutions. The president doesn't have the power to revoke an organization's tax status, but he can ask the Internal Revenue Service to do it.

Harvard has , claiming the government's actions violate and don't follow proper procedure. The will begin this summer.

Copyright 2025 NPR

Elissa Nadworny reports on all things college for NPR, following big stories like unprecedented enrollment declines, college affordability, the student debt crisis and workforce training. During the 2020-2021 academic year, she traveled to dozens of campuses to document what it was like to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. Her work has won several awards including a 2020 Gracie Award for a story about student parents in college, a 2018 James Beard Award for a story about the Chinese-American population in the Mississippi Delta and a 2017 Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in innovation.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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