Alyssa Nadwerny
Appearances
Up First from NPR
Hearing For Wrongly Deported Man, Prescription Drug Prices, Harvard Battle Continues
Yeah, the latest move in this standoff, which has about $9 billion in federal grants for Harvard hanging in the balance, it happened on Trump's Truth Social platform with the president writing, quote, perhaps Harvard should lose its tax-exempt status and be taxed as a political entity. if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist-inspired-slash-supporting sickness.
Up First from NPR
Hearing For Wrongly Deported Man, Prescription Drug Prices, Harvard Battle Continues
And the background is, of course, on Friday, the administration sent Harvard a list of demands. Then on Monday, Harvard's president responded rejecting them, saying they were illegal in an attempt to dictate, quote, "...what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue."
Up First from NPR
Hearing For Wrongly Deported Man, Prescription Drug Prices, Harvard Battle Continues
I understand that there are already legal challenges to this. Yes. A lawsuit filed late last week by Harvard's faculty, along with the American Association of University Professors, is challenging this administration demands tied with withholding funding.
Up First from NPR
Hearing For Wrongly Deported Man, Prescription Drug Prices, Harvard Battle Continues
Well, in my conversations with college leaders, many have said they were deeply worried about the administration moving beyond cutting research grants. And Trump's comments confirm those fears. Here's Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, which represents hundreds of colleges.
Up First from NPR
Hearing For Wrongly Deported Man, Prescription Drug Prices, Harvard Battle Continues
Nearly all colleges and universities are tax-exempt organizations. They're given nonprofit status along with charities, religious institutions, and some political organizations. And that's allowed some elite institutions to amass huge endowments. Harvard is the largest at more than $50 billion.
Up First from NPR
Hearing For Wrongly Deported Man, Prescription Drug Prices, Harvard Battle Continues
Well, Republicans have long sought to curb those tax exemptions. And while Trump doesn't necessarily have the total authority to revoke a college's tax status, he can use the Internal Revenue Service to do it in rare circumstances. There's also a bill in Congress that would give the president and the treasury secretary greater control over this.
Up First from NPR
Hearing For Wrongly Deported Man, Prescription Drug Prices, Harvard Battle Continues
Is there a precedent for what the administration is trying to do here? So one example is Bob Jones University, which had an interracial dating and marriage ban, and the IRS ruled that those discriminatory policies were not charitable. That went all the way to the Supreme Court in the early 1980s. The college eventually dropped the ban and regained their tax status about two decades later.
Up First from NPR
Hearing For Wrongly Deported Man, Prescription Drug Prices, Harvard Battle Continues
And say more about why the Trump administration is doing this. It's a great question. The White House has continued to maintain that they are rooting out anti-Semitism on campus. But going after colleges, which the administration deems left-leaning or too liberal, has long been a goal of Trump. Here is Trump speaking at an event in Florida in 2023.
Up First from NPR
Hearing For Wrongly Deported Man, Prescription Drug Prices, Harvard Battle Continues
And Michelle, in the last month, the administration has canceled about $11 billion in federal grants at a handful of elite colleges. And President Trump doesn't appear to be backing down anytime soon.