• Trump vows to strip Harvard’s tax-exempt status, citing the school's perceived failures.
• The university has frozen over $2 billion in federal funding following Trump's demands.
• Legal experts and Harvard officials warn of serious implications for higher education.
• Democrats call for investigations into Trump's motives and actions regarding the IRS.
• Harvard plans to challenge the administration's actions in court.

On Friday, President Trump reiterated his plan to revoke Harvard University's tax-exempt status, declaring, “We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status. It’s what they deserve!” This announcement escalates the ongoing conflict between the Trump administration and the illustrious Ivy League school, which has resisted multiple demands from the administration related to governance and campus activism, particularly concerning protests around Palestinian issues, according to abcnews, newsweek, and latimes.

Trump's authority to unilaterally revoke such status is constitutionally questionable, as federal law prevents the President from intervening in IRS audits. White House representatives have stated that any action taken by the IRS would be independent of the president's rhetoric, as indicated by sources Reuters and NY Times. Nevertheless, Trump's ongoing attacks could jeopardize the university's financial health, which relies heavily on tax-deductible donations.

Following Trump’s threats, Harvard filed a lawsuit against the administration, claiming that halting federal grants infringes upon its constitutional rights. The university’s leadership has consistently rebutted Trump’s demands, emphasizing that the activities targeted by the administration are fundamental to academic freedom. In a statement, Harvard President Alan Garber argued that the attempts to strip tax-exempt status were “highly illegal” and would severely disrupt its educational mission, as reported by huffpost and aljazeera.

Democratic senators have called for an investigation into Trump’s threats, asserting that they raise significant constitutional concerns about free speech and due process rights. They claim these actions are politically motivated and represent an overreach of executive power, calling upon an inspector general investigation into the IRS's operations concerning Harvard, according to dawn and thejakartapost.

With a considerable fraction of its funding dependent on its tax-exempt status, Harvard maintains that losing it would have dire consequences not only for its operations but for the educational landscape across the nation. The fight against the Trump administration's measures illustrates a broader struggle over the ideological direction of higher education in America, as acknowledged by indiatimes and cbsnews.