US President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to revoke Harvard University's tax-exempt status after the institution declined to comply with a list of White House demands, which included curbing campus activism and dismantling its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump threatened to tax Harvard as a 'political entity' if it continued to push what he called 'political, ideological, and terrorist-inspired sickness'.
"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?” Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Trump administration had frozen USD 2.2 billion in grants to Harvard UniversityThe
Trump-led US administration announced to freeze more than USD 2.2 billion in grants and contracts to Harvard University, citing the institution's refusal to comply with federal demands aimed at curbing campus activism. The decision comes after Harvard, in a statement on Monday, announced it would not bow to the administration's controversial directives. These include implementing what the government describes as "merit-based" policies in admissions and hiring, conducting a sweeping audit of faculty, students, and leadership regarding their stances on diversity, and banning the use of face masks -- a measure seemingly directed at pro-Palestinian demonstrators on campus.
In a letter sent to the university last Friday (April 11), the administration also demanded that Harvard to stop recognition or funding for any student group or organisation that, in its view, endorses criminal acts, violence, or harassment. Notably, these demands were a revision of an earlier communication to the university.
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