Mass. Sens. Warren, Markey call for probe of Trump’s call to strip Harvard’s tax-exemption
Two Massachusetts pols are calling on a government watchdog to investigate President Donald Trump's proclamation Friday that he intends to strip Harvard University of its tax-exempt status, further escalating the fight between the elite institution and the Republican White House.
Democratic U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey fired off the letter Heather Hill , the acting Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, calling on her to open an investigation, spurred by what they described as "alarming reports," about the president's remarks.
The lawmakers said they're looking for "an investigation into potential criminal activity related to this decision and into whether or not the Trump administration is using the [Internal Revenue Service] to take other politically motivated actions."
In a post on Truth Social , Trump wrote: "We are going to be taking away Harvard's Tax Exempt Status. It's what they deserve!"
The move would require a separate investigation from the Internal Revenue Service into whether Harvard violated the conditions that allow it to avoid some federal taxes as a charitable institution, as numerous other colleges and nonprofits do.
"The president is targeting the non-profit status of Harvard University for blatantly political purposes," Warren and Markey wrote.
They were joined by U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and U.S. Sen Ron Wyden, of Oregon, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee.
In a statement, the lawmakers asserted that it's "illegal and unconstitutional for the IRS to use politically motivated reasons to revoke the tax-exempt status of schools, hospitals, churches, or any other tax-exempt entities."
Harvard, which has said there is "no legal basis" for such a move, could contest the IRS's finding and ultimately challenge the decision in the federal courts.
"The government has long exempted universities from taxes in order to support their educational mission," Harvard said in a statement. "The tax exemption means that more of every dollar can go toward scholarships for students, lifesaving and life-enhancing medical research and technological advancements that drive economic growth."
Trump's call for Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status, a move that could cost it billions of dollars if eventually imposed, "raises troubling constitutional questions, including whether the president is trying to squelch Harvard's free speech rights and whether the revocation of its tax-exempt status will deprive the university of its due process rights," the lawmakers continued.
Trump has targeted the university with increasing tenacity in recent weeks, accusing it of allowing a climate of antisemitism to fester in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.
The government has already moved to freeze $2.2 billion in federal research funding to Harvard after the university refused a series of demands to overhaul its admissions, discipline and management policies, and allow outside audits of viewpoint diversity on campus, among a litany of other conditions.
Harvard responded by suing the Trump administration, accusing it of overstepping the power of the government and improperly attempting to influence a private university.
While Harvard could well have the resources to fight the White House in court, the move nonetheless "sets a dangerous precedent for President Trump to attack his perceived political enemies," they continued.
"Churches and synagogues, non-profit hospitals and clinics, charter and private schools, and any others that land on the President's target list will be forced to relinquish their free speech rights in order to remain in existence, or otherwise face this organizational death sentence," the lawmakers wrote.
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