Congress mulling huge Ivy League endowments

Donald Trump has been at war with Ivy League schools, vowing to cut funding over antisemitic instances on these campuses.

Legally, Trump cannot cut funding already allocated, but Congress can do something about it in the future, and Republicans are finally making their move.

Trump freezes grants to Harvard

In mid-April, the Trump administration announced that it was going to freeze $2.2 billion in grants for Harvard University.

The school had rejected the Trump administration’s requests to make changes, arguing that this would take away the school’s independence.

The school’s president, Alan Garber, stated, “The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.

“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”

Chopping another $450 million

This week, the administration announced another cut to Harvard, stating that an additional $450 million in grants was going to be held back.

The White House’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism stated, “(E)ight federal agencies across the government are announcing the termination of approximately $450 million in grants to Harvard, which is in addition to the $2.2 billion that was terminated.”

Attorneys for the Department of Health and Human Services added, “There is a dark problem on Harvard’s campus, and by prioritizing appeasement over accountability, institutional leaders have forfeited the school’s claim to taxpayer support.”

This has been litigated before, and the result was always the same… if money is allocated by Congress and signed off on by a sitting president, that funding cannot be withheld. I have also stated that I think it is outrageous that schools like Harvard, which has a $53.2 billion endowment, are getting a penny in taxpayer money, and Congress needs to strip this money from future legislation.

Tax that money

This week, the House Ways and Means Committee released legislation that would hit the endowments with a tiered approach system based on the money available versus the number of students enrolled.

The current tax of 1.4% would remain in place for schools with a ratio of $500,000 to $750,000 per student on investment income. Those under $1.25 million would be taxed at 7%. Schools between $1.25 million and $2 million would be at 14%. And schools over $2 million per student would pay 21% on annual endowment profits.

Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) stated, “I’m pleased the primary provisions of my bill, the Endowment Tax Fairness Act, are included in the House Ways and Means reconciliation proposal. I am proud to have led this effort and applaud Chairman Smith’s hard work and leadership. Every day, we are one step closer to delivering President Trump’s one big, beautiful bill. Let’s get it done and do some good for the American people.”

This is a great start, but I still want to see federal funding of these schools stripped in future legislation. I think most Americans would be supportive of giving trade schools and smaller schools without these huge endowments the money they need, but handing billions over to schools like Harvard is utterly ridiculous. If any congressmen or senators ever answer my requests for interviews, perhaps I can get an answer why they continue to sign off on legislation that continues to send them taxpayer money.