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Trump Reignites Harvard Feud by Threatening Tax-Exempt Status

Amanda Albright, Elizabeth Rembert, Akayla Gardner and Brooke Sutherland

Fri, May 2, 2025, 11:30 AM 6 min read

Harvard maintained there’s “no legal basis” to rescind its tax-exempt status and Trump’s announcement sparked swift criticism. Rep. Richard Neal, the ranking Democratic member on the House’s tax-writing committee, described the move as illegal and said the president was weaponizing the Internal Revenue Service.

Four Democratic Senators, including Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, called early Friday for an investigation of whether Trump’s targeting of Harvard violates a criminal law barring the president from ordering the IRS to punish his political opponents or reward his allies.

Under federal law, the president, vice president or their employees cannot direct an IRS official to “conduct or terminate an audit or other investigation of any particular taxpayer with respect to the tax liability of such taxpayer.”

As of Friday morning, it was unclear if Trump’s announcement stemmed from his decision or that of the tax agency.

“I can’t understand how the president is operating as if he has the power to direct this. He doesn’t and is specifically prohibited from doing this,” said Steven Bloom, assistant vice president for government relations at the American Council on Education.

The power to revoke tax benefits lies with the IRS and it’s a lengthy process that begins with an examination, he said. Harvard would also have the opportunity to remedy any issues, according to Bloom.

Tenenbaum Law Group, a Washington, DC-based law firm that represents nonprofits, said in an April 28 report that federal tax-exempt status cannot be taken away with a “stroke of a pen.”

“Those procedures require individual case-by-case IRS audits of each organization, with ample opportunity for the entity to defend itself, and including multiple routes of appeal,” the law firm said.