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US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would strip Harvard University of its tax-exempt status after it refused to meet his list of demands, including limits on campus activism.

“We are going to be taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status. It’s what they deserve!" Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, intensifying what has become a highly publicized clash over academic freedom, federal funding, and political influence.

In response, Harvard University President Alan Garber fired back in an interview with The Wall Street Journal Friday, saying the action would be “highly illegal” and “destructive” to the university, according to a report by CNN.

Trump's announcement came as Harvard fights a freeze on $2.2 billion in federal grants the Trump administration imposed after the university refused to comply with demands.

The Trump administration had called for broad government and leadership reforms at the university, as well as changes to its admissions policies. It also demanded the university audit views of diversity on campus, and stop recognising some student clubs. The university rejected these demands and announced that it would not bend to the government’s demands. Its president, Alan Garber, asserted that the institute "will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights”.

Hours after this stance, Trump froze more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard, in his first retaliatory step earlier this month.

The US President had earlier claimed that Harvard University is abusing its tax-exempt status as he escalated his fight with the institution. "I think Harvard is a disgrace," Trump told reporters.

On April 29, the US government announced that federal officials are launching investigations into Harvard University and the Harvard Law Review, saying authorities have received reports of race-based discrimination “permeating the operations” of the journal.

Harvard is among several universities nationwide where pro-Palestinian protests erupted on campus amid last year’s war in Gaza. Since then, Republican officials have intensified scrutiny of these institutions, with multiple Ivy League presidents testifying before Congress over allegations of antisemitism.

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