This threat is added to the frost of $ 2.2 billion (1.90 billion euros) of federal aid decreed on April 14 by the federal government. Seven billion dollars (6.16 billion euros) additional funding could also be withdrawn from Harvard. Officially, the Trump administration claims to want to counter anti -Semitism on American campuses.
The improbable showdown between Harvard and Trump
The impact for Harvard
The federal government is the main funder for research programs conducted in Harvard. Federal subsidies represent 11 % of Harvard resources, on an annual budget of $ 6.4 billion (5.6 billion euros), according to official data. Like many private and public universities, Harvard is exempt from taxes as a teaching establishment. The university benefits from the same advantage in the state of Massachusetts, where it is located.
The federal law prohibits the executive power, including the president, to ask the internal Revenue Service (IRS), the equivalent of the finance inspection, to conduct any investigation into a taxpayer. But IRS could withdraw its tax exemption from university if it turns out that it participates in a political campaign or lobbying activities. The Bloomberg News agency estimated that the tax exemption enjoyed by Harvard was 465 million dollars in 2023. In the brief term, Harvard issued $ 750 million on the bond market, which provide him with a cash reserve.
There are few precedents in this area. In the 1970s, the IRS revoked the tax exemption from Bob Jones University (South Carolina) because it refused to admit the candidates who had contracted an interracial marriage. The IRS said that it would not allow institutions practicing racial discrimination to obtain tax exemption status. The legal battle around this revocation has come back to the Supreme Court which, in 1983, proved to be the IRS. Bob Jones regained his tax exemption in 2017.
-Accusation of anti -Semitism
The Trump administration advances the argument of the fight against anti -Semitism and what it describes as ideologies “radicals “ or “politicians “. In the letter addressed to Harvard, the government also aims to suppress diversity, equity and inclusion programs (DEI). He claims to base recruitment and admission exclusively on merit (without applying positive discrimination). The government requires an external audit, under its control, of academic programs and workforce. The university should also point out to the authorities any student “hostile” to American values.
On the issue of anti -Semitism, university lawyers replied that Harvard has made significant progress in the past fifteen months. On the other points, the president of the university, Alan Garber, claims for Harvard “its independence “ as well as “Its rights guaranteed by the Constitution”. In April, some 800 members of the Harvard teaching staff signed an exhorting letter the university to display “An opposition coordinated with these anti -democratic attacks” of the Trump administration.
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The substance of the debate
The debate exceeds Harvard. Since the inauguration of Donald Trump, research work on the themes placed in the index for ideological reasons have lost their federal funding. Those whose description includes a prohibited word (ex: “climate”, “activism”, even “woman”) are excluded from access to subsidies. Pressures are exerted on private organizations so that they comply with rules contrary to academic freedoms or freedom of expression. Government sites and databases delete any mention relating to defense, history, or even the existence of minorities.
According to Mathieu Duplay, president of the French Association of American Studies, students and students or researchers and researchers, having exercised the right to freedom of expression (guaranteed by the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States) were arrested, detained, even expelled. Visas granted to students and foreign students can be revoked on the grounds that these people have participated in demonstrations or published articles on sensitive subjects.
