Trump Threatens To Revoke Harvard’s Tax-Exempt Status One Day After Garber Rejects Demands

United States President Donald Trump threatened to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status less than one day after Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 rebuffed the White House’s demands, marking yet another escalation in the Trump administration’s campaign against the University.

“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?,” he wrote in a Tuesday post on Truth Social.

“Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST,” Trump added.

A Harvard spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Prominent conservative lawmakers, including Vice President J.D. Vance, have repeatedly used the tax system as a cudgel in their attack against Harvard by proposing a hike on Harvard’s endowment tax.

In a letter to Garber in January 2024, leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee Workforce warned that they were willing to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status over its response to pro-Palestine protests on campus.

But Tuesday’s announcement is the first explicit indication from the Trump administration that it is seriously considering revoking Harvard’s nonprofit status — a move that would significantly change how much the University has to pay in taxes to the federal government.

Nonprofits, including most institutions like Harvard, are exempt from federal income taxes, but their status can be revoked if they operate outside of their stated purposes. Republicans have frequently levied that line of attack against Harvard, arguing that the University has strayed from its educational and research mission.

Should Harvard face increased taxation, financial aid programs, faculty hiring, and University-funded research would likely bear the brunt of the effects, a Harvard spokesperson wrote in a February statement.

While the White House has yet to formally revoke Harvard’s non-profit status — or attempt to raise the University’s endowment tax — the University is already gearing up for a precarious financial future. Since Trump’s inauguration, Harvard has paused faculty and staff hiring across the University and issued $1.2 billion dollars in debt across two bond sales.

Harvard has also turned to K Street lobbyists to woo Republicans in Congress away from attacks on its endowment and tax status. Just days before Trump returned to power, the University retained Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm with ties to several of Trump’s top advisers.

Harvard spent more than $600,000 on in-house lobbying of the federal government in 2024 for issues relating to the endowment tax and federal funding— the University's largest lobbying expenditure since 2010.

Although the White House cannot unilaterally change Harvard’s nonprofit status, Trump could direct the Internal Revenue Service under the Treasury department to open a formal investigation into the University.

In October 2024, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) privately warned that Harvard’s status as an accredited institution of higher education could be revoked under the Trump administration.

Government certified accreditation is needed for Harvard to receive federal student loans, research grants, and other federal funds.

—Staff writer Dhruv T. Patel can be reached at dhruv.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @dhruvtkpatel.

Staff writer Avani B. Rai can be reached at avani.rai@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @avaniiiirai.

—Staff writer Saketh Sundar can be reached at saketh.sundar@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @saketh_sundar.

—Staff writer Grace E. Yoon can be reached at grace.yoon@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @graceunkyoon.