Will the GOP elites defend Harvard?
Sen, Ted Cruz: "I can also assure you that were this a Republican president, a Republican Attorney General, and a Republican IRS that were targeting Democrats, I at least would speak out just as vigorously against it because if we are going to respect rule of law, the apparatus… pic.twitter.com/LgEIifUkkY
— Sarah Longwell (@SarahLongwell25) April 16, 2025
The Internal Revenue Service is making plans to rescind the tax-exempt status of Harvard University, according to two sources familiar with the matter, which would be an extraordinary step of retaliation as the Trump administration seeks to turn up pressure on the university that has defied its demands to change its hiring and other practices.
A final decision on rescinding the university’s tax exemption is expected soon, the sources said.
The administration already has blocked more than $2 billion in funding from the nation’s oldest university, which is fighting the White House’s policy demands, citing the constitutional right of private universities to determine their own teaching practices.
President Donald Trump in recent days raised the idea of punishing the Ivy League university for not complying with what the administration has sought to portray as a campaign to fight antisemitism.
“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?’ Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!” Trump posted on Truth Social on Tuesday.
This you @JDVance?
— Sarah Longwell (@SarahLongwell25) April 16, 2025
"This is about whether we have functional constitutional government in this country. If the IRS can go after you because of what you think or what you believe or what you do, we'd no longer live in a free country.“ pic.twitter.com/fBD4y5V4OS
It looks like environmental groups are next to be targeted.
Update: There’s this too:
The Trump administration has significantly dialed up its pressure on Harvard University, not only freezing $2 billion in federal funding but now threatening its eligibility to host international students after school leaders refused to make key policy changes the White House also is demanding of other elite US colleges.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sent Harvard “a scathing letter demanding detailed records on Harvard’s foreign student visa holders’ illegal and violent activities by April 30, 2025, or face immediate loss of Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification,” her agency said Wednesday in a news release that refers to antisemitism but does not detail specific incidents.
It accuses Harvard of creating a “hostile learning environment” for Jewish students. “It is a privilege to have foreign students attend Harvard University, not a guarantee,” reads the letter, which a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson gave CNN after some of its details first were reported by the student-run Harvard Crimson.
Here’s the thing. This is all easily solved by simply bending the knee to give Donald Trump big juicy blowjobs on a regular basis. Just give him everything he wants. Easy-peasy.