The Trump administration has taken aim at Harvard, with President Trump calling for the university’s tax-exempt status to be revoked, despite the likely illegality of that threat.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is reportedly planning to enact the president’s demand, a move that would cost Harvard millions of dollars each year.
The move is part on an ongoing battle, and a significant escalation on Trump’s attack on Harvard and his aggressive, multi-pronged assault on higher education institutions. The White has urged Harvard to change its hiring, teaching and admissions practices to help fight antisemitism on campus.
Harvard has said that it has taken steps to address the issue, and has received support from institutions such as Stanford University, and other schools united in support of academic freedom.
Here are the key stories at a glance:
IRS to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status - reports
The IRS is reportedly planning to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status in what would be a probably illegal move amid Donald Trump’s concerted attack on the independence of US institutions of higher education.
Ábrego García’s wife rejects Trump officials’ ‘violent’ depictions
The wife of Kilmar Ábrego García, the Maryland man unlawfully deported to a mega-prison in El Salvador, has strongly criticized the Trump administration’s attempt to smear his character, saying a temporary restraining order against him was “out of caution” and that “he is a loving partner and father” who is being denied justice.
Luigi Mangione indicted on federal murder charge over healthcare CEO killing
Luigi Mangione was indicted on Thursday on a federal murder charge in the killing of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel last year, a necessary step for prosecutors to seek the death penalty.
The indictment returned by a grand jury in Manhattan federal court also charges Mangione with two counts of stalking and a firearms count.
Trump condemns Fed chair over interest rates
Donald Trump early on Thursday condemned the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, for not lowering US interest rates, and expressed a wish for him to be gone from his role. The US president lambasted Powell as “always too late and wrong” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
SpaceX is frontrunner to build Trump’s ‘Golden Dome’
Elon Musk’s SpaceX and two partners have emerged as frontrunners to win a crucial part of Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense shield, six people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Booker to visit El Salvador in effort to return wrongly deported man
Cory Booker plans to travel to El Salvador, a source familiar with the New Jersey senator’s itinerary said, as Democrats seek to pressure the Trump administration to return a wrongly deported Maryland resident.
Meloni says Trump to visit Rome after Washington talks
Giorgia Meloni said Donald Trump had accepted her invitation for an official trip to Rome, as the pair met in Washington in an attempt by the Italian prime minister to bridge the gap between the EU and US amid trade tariff tensions.
What else happened today:
A Turkish PhD student detained after co-authoring an op-ed about Gaza has been denied bond by an immigration judge in Massachusetts.
Trump’s fledgling media firm urged market regulators to investigate “suspicious activity” after a London-based hedge fund disclosed a vast bet against its stock.
Two people were killed in a mass shooting at the Florida State University (FSU) campus in Tallahassee on Thursday, and six others were injured, police said. “It’s horrible that things like this take place,” the US president said.
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 17 April 2025.
