Alright, so get this: the IRS might be gearing up to strip Harvard University of its tax-exempt status. Crazy, right? Sources are saying a decision could be coming down the pipeline real soon. And guess what? The White House isn’t messing around either. They’ve frozen a bunch of money that was supposed to go to Harvard because the school didn’t want to play ball with some demands from President Trump’s crew. Not gonna lie, things are getting pretty tense.
But wait, it gets even juicier. The Department of Homeland Security is talking about yanking Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program status. That’s the program that lets noncitizen students study there with a special visa. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem sent Harvard a letter saying they better hand over records of student visa holders or else. They want info on any “illegal and violent activities.” Yikes.
Now, Harvard isn’t just gonna sit back and take this. They’re ready to fight back. They’re saying that if the IRS tries to take away their tax-exempt status, it would be totally illegal. And that could seriously mess with their ability to do what they do best – educate folks, do important medical research, and foster innovation. It’s a big deal, folks.
The White House is trying to play it cool, though. They’re saying that any IRS investigation into Harvard was already in the works before Trump started tweeting about it. And they’re quick to point out that the president can’t just snap his fingers and make the IRS do his bidding. There are rules against that sort of thing.
Speaking of Trump, he’s not holding back. He’s calling Harvard a “disgrace” and even throwing around the word “antisemitic.” He’s saying that tax-exempt status is a privilege and Harvard has been taking advantage of it. He’s not mincing words, that’s for sure.
But here’s the kicker – Trump is claiming he’s not really involved in this whole mess. He’s telling reporters he found out about it the same way we did. And get this, he’s out here saying that Harvard should lose its tax-exempt status because it’s been pushing some “political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting ‘Sickness.'” That’s some strong language right there.
So yeah, things are heating up over at Harvard. The Trump administration is demanding all sorts of changes, like ending diversity programs, going for merit-based admissions, and playing nice with immigration authorities. The ball is in Harvard’s court now. Let’s see how this all plays out.
