(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Friday renewed his threat to take away Harvard’s tax-exempt status.
“We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status. It’s what they deserve,” Trump wrote in a post to his conservative social media platform. He first floated the idea in mid-April.
Any attempt to do so, though, would likely face legal challenges.
A Harvard spokesperson told ABC News there’s no “legal basis” to rescind the university’s tax-exempt status and said it would endanger the school’s ability to carry out its mission.
“Such an unprecedented action would endanger our ability to carry out our educational mission,” the spokesperson said. “It would result in diminished financial aid for students, abandonment of critical medical research programs, and lost opportunities for innovation. The unlawful use of this instrument more broadly would have grave consequences for the future of higher education in America.”
Trump has taken aim at the university after it said it would not comply with the administration’s series of demands, including actions on antisemitism and the use of DEI on campus.
The Trump administration has already frozen more than $2.2 billion in federal grants to Harvard, as well as $60 million in multi-year contract value to the institution. Harvard sued the administration in response, alleging the freeze violates the First Amendment and federal law.
Taking away the school’s tax-exempt status would be the latest escalation.
Federal law bars the president from directly or indirectly ordering the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to conduct or terminate an audit or investigation.
Sources previously told ABC News that the IRS was considering revoking Harvard’s tax-exempt status. The White House said in a statement to ABC News in mid-April that any investigation by the IRS into Harvard began before President Trump began posting on his social media account that the school should lose its tax-exempt status.
Many major public and private colleges in the U.S. are exempt from federal income under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code because of their educational mission, research and public service.
“The government has long exempted universities from taxes in order to support their educational mission,” the Harvard spokesperson said. “The tax exemption means that more of every dollar can go toward scholarships for students, lifesaving and life-enhancing medical research, and technological advancements that drive economic growth.”
ABC News’ Hannah Demissie, Katherine Faulders, Arthur Jones and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.
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