‘It’s what they deserve’: Trump says he will revoke Harvard University’s tax-exempt status

Harvard University Campus - File Photo

US President Donald Trump on Friday said his administration would be taking away the tax-exempt status of Hardvard University, saying "it's what they deserve."

"We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status. It’s what they deserve!" read his Truth Social post.

Last month, Harvard was hit with a $2.2 billion federal funding freeze after rejecting a list of sweeping demands that the White House said was intended to crack down on campus anti-Semitism.

The call for changes to its governance, hiring practices and admissions procedures expands a list Harvard received on April 3, which ordered officials to shut diversity offices and cooperate with immigration authorities for screenings of international students.

Trump and his White House team have publicly justified their campaign against universities as a reaction to what they say is uncontrolled "anti-Semitism" and a need to reverse diversity programs aimed at addressing historical oppresion of minorities.

The administration claims protests against Israel's war in Gaza that swept across US college campuses last year were rife with anti-Semitism.

Many US universities, including Harvard, cracked down on the protests over the allegations at the time, with the Cambridge-based institution placing 23 students on probation and denying degrees to 12 others, according to protest organizers.

Other institutions, including Columbia University, have bowed to less far-ranging demands from the Trump administration, which claims that the educational elite is too left-wing.