Clips of Vance and Cruz saying they'd stop the IRS from political attacks resurface after Trump's Harvard threat
As Donald Trump pursues his campaign to make Ivy League schools bend to his will and accept what Harvard's president said amounted to a federal takeover of the insitutions, his critics say that the Republican Party is leaning fully into hypocrisy.
News broke on Wednesday that the White House plans to escalate its war against America's most prestigious universities by hitting them where it hurts: their endowments. A report in Semafor revealed that Republicans are looking at ways to tax profits from university endowments while the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) debates stripping Harvard and other universities of their tax-exempt statuses. The Department of Justice formally asked the IRS to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status this week, an agency spokesperson confirmed to news outlets on Wednesday.
'It is past time for American universities to stop supporting foreign adversaries with their investment decisions, much as they should stop granting university access to supporters of terrorism,' read a February memo from the White House reported by Semafor.
The move is a classic case of Trump-style escalation, and comes as Harvard this week said that it would refuse a list of demands issued by the federal government.
Now, critics of the president are attacking Trump and two of his closest allies — Vice President JD Vance and Senator Ted Cruz — for their past statements complaining about supposed politicization of federal agencies by Joe Biden's administration.
'I will never allow the IRS to be used as a political weapon,' the president vowed in a 2019 clip posted by the publisher of an anti-Trump news site, The Bulwark.
'I will never allow the IRS to be used as a political weapon.' —Donald Trump, Oct 2019 pic.twitter.com/ah9Da5KyW8
— Sarah Longwell (@SarahLongwell25) April 17, 2025
'If the IRS can go after you because of your beliefs, we'd no longer live in a free country,' Vance, in a resurfaced clip, says to Fox News host Laura Ingraham.
This you @JDVance?"This is about whether we have functional constitutional government in this country. If the IRS can go after you because of what you think or what you believe or what you do, we'd no longer live in a free country.' pic.twitter.com/fBD4y5V4OS
— Sarah Longwell (@SarahLongwell25) April 16, 2025
Cruz, in particular, was on record vowing to 'speak out' if a Republican attorney general or IRS commissioner began targeting institutions tied explicitly or implicitly to the left or the Democratic Party — a promise he has not addressed in the midst of the president's campaign to impose conservative belief systems on America's institutions of higher education.
Sen, Ted Cruz: "I can also assure you that were this a Republican president, a Republican Attorney General, and a Republican IRS that were targeting Democrats, I at least would speak out just as vigorously against it because if we are going to respect rule of law, the apparatus… pic.twitter.com/LgEIifUkkY
— Sarah Longwell (@SarahLongwell25) April 16, 2025
Speaking at a Judiciary Committee hearing in 2014, when Barack Obama was president, Cruz said: 'I can also assure you that were this a Republican president, a Republican Attorney General, and a Republican IRS that were targeting Democrats, I at least would speak out just as vigorously against it because if we are going to respect rule of law, the apparatus of the federal government cannot and should not be used as a partisan tool to bludgeon your enemies.'
Democrats have eagerly bashed their Republican opponents over the scope of Trump's widespread cuts to federal agencies since January, and the reports of billionaires including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos seeking access to the president alongside lavish gifts to his adminsitration and related political causes have only fueled their attacks further.
The president is now setting his party up for an all-out war with the heads of America's colleges and universities, which (with the early exception of Columbia University) are increasingly using the courts to seek refuge from the Trump administration's directives.
Administration officials slashed $2.2 billion in federal grants and related funds from Harvard on Monday over the school's refusal to comply with its demands, which included that it end diversity-based hiring practices, ban face masks on campus, cooperate with federal immigration authorities, and more.
Harvard's president Alan Garber said in a letter to the university community in response: '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.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
15 minutes ago
- CNBC
Elon Musk's favorability among Republicans dropped 16 points since March, Quinnipiac says
Elon Musk's official role in the Trump administration recently came to an end. Many Republicans won't be sad to see less of him, according to the results of Quinnipiac University's latest public opinion survey. While a majority of Republicans still hold a favorable view of Musk, the number fell to 62% in the poll out Wednesday, down from 78% in March, Quinnipiac said. Overall, the Quinnipiac poll found that 30% of self-identified voters surveyed in the U.S. hold a favorable opinion of Musk, according to polling from June 5 to June 9. Republican and Democratic voters remain deeply divided in their views of the world's richest man, who contributed nearly $300 million to propel President Donald Trump back to the White House. Only 3% of Democrats surveyed said they held a favorable of view of the Tesla CEO, who was once seen as an environmental leader appealing to liberal values. Musk didn't respond to a request for comment. Musk and Trump had a very public falling out last week that started with Musk's disapproval of the president's spending bill and escalated into an all-out war of words that played out on social media. Musk said on Wednesday that he regretted some of the posts he made about Trump last week, adding that "they went too far." Even with a slide in his favorability, Musk is still popular among Republicans after his time running the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an effort to dramatically slash the size of the federal government. Among the Republican respondents to the early June poll, 80% rated Musk and DOGE's work as either excellent or good, while 13% said it was either not so good or poor. In the March poll, 82% of Republicans surveyed said they thought Musk and DOGE were helping the country. Read the full survey results here.
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Gold Advances on Middle East Tensions and Trump's Tariff Pledge
(Bloomberg) -- Gold gained for a second day on increased tensions in the Middle East, with its haven status also supported by President Donald Trump's comments that he will inform trading partners on tariff rates within two weeks. Shuttered NY College Has Alumni Fighting Over Its Future Trump's Military Parade Has Washington Bracing for Tanks and Weaponry NYC Renters Brace for Price Hikes After Broker-Fee Ban NY Long Island Rail Service Resumes After Grand Central Fire NYC Mayoral Candidates All Agree on Building More Housing. But Where? Bullion rose as much as 0.6% to around $3,373 an ounce, extending a 1% gain from the earlier session when it was also boosted by a declining dollar. Buying interest increased after the US ordered some embassy staff to depart Baghdad and allowed military families to leave the Middle East, after Iran threatened to attack US bases if talks over its nuclear program fell through. Separately, Trump said he intended to send letters to trading partners in the next one to two weeks setting unilateral tariff rates, ahead of a July 9 deadline to reimpose higher duties on dozens of economies. The president also said a trade framework with China has been completed, with levies between the two largest economies to be maintained at their current levels. Uncertainties over global trade tensions and heightened geopolitical risks have rattled markets this year, boosting gold's allure as a store of value in turbulent times and powering a year-to-date advance of 28%. The precious metal, which reached an all-time high in April, has also been supported by increased central-bank buying. Spot gold was up 0.3% to $3,364.43 as of 7:59 a.m. Singapore time. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was steady after falling 0.4% on Wednesday. Silver, platinum and palladium all gained. New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years The Spying Scandal Rocking the World of HR Software American Mid: Hampton Inn's Good-Enough Formula for World Domination The SEC Pinned Its Hack on a Few Hapless Day Traders. The Full Story Is Far More Troubling Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert Wants to Donate His Billions—and Walk Again ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dollar slides on easing trade tensions, Fed expectations
By Rae Wee SINGAPORE (Reuters) -The dollar slid on Thursday on further signs that U.S. President Donald Trump may adopt a softer stance in tariff negotiations and heightened expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts. Trump said on Wednesday he would be willing to extend a July 8 deadline for completing trade talks with countries before higher U.S. tariffs are imposed. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested earlier that the Trump administration may offer extensions from a July trade deal deadline for countries negotiating in good faith. The remarks renewed dollar weakness, lifting the euro to a seven-week high. It last bought $1.1525. The greenback lost 0.43% against the yen and 0.34% against the Swiss franc to last trade at 143.98 and 0.81725, respectively. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar fell to its weakest since April 22 at 98.327. "It's hard to tell whether there is a masterplan behind this, but common sense would suggest that President Trump is trying to create a level of urgency in terms of trade negotiations," said Rodrigo Catril, senior currency strategist at National Australia Bank. "I think the market, in terms of the size of the moves, is becoming a little bit more sanguine about what this all means... the market is also very wary that the picture could change quite dramatically in a week's time or two weeks' time." Elsewhere, sterling was up 0.38% to $1.3588. The Australian dollar ticked up 0.05% to $0.6506, while the New Zealand dollar rose 0.1% to $0.6033. On Wednesday, data showed U.S. consumer prices rose less than expected in May, leading traders to ramp up bets of a Fed cut as early as September and keeping pressure on the dollar. Thursday's producer price index data will be the next test for markets. The offshore yuan was last a touch stronger at 7.1953 per dollar, helped slightly by news that a fragile truce in the U.S.-China trade war was restored as both sides reached a deal following talks in London this week. "Full details have not been published, and it remains unclear if the talks brought the two largest economies closer to productive cooperation," said Mantas Vanagas, senior economist at Westpac. EURO STRENGTH The euro was clinging to strong gains on Thursday, having jumped against most other currencies in the previous session. Against the yen, the common currency last stood at 165.88 having risen to its firmest since October at 166.42 on Thursday. It was up 0.13% against the Aussie, extending a 0.9% gain from Thursday, and had also touched a one-month high of 84.88 pence overnight. While there was no immediate trigger behind the moves, analysts say the euro has over the past week drawn support from hawkish European Central Bank (ECB) rhetoric. Last week, the ECB cut interest rates as expected but hinted at a pause in its year-long easing cycle after inflation finally returned to its 2% target. "Expectations of fewer previously expected ECB rate cuts have lent some support to the euro," said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. That contrasts with the likely resumption of a Fed easing cycle later this year, and as Trump has repeatedly called for U.S. rates to be lowered. Trump said last week that a decision on the next Fed chief will be coming soon, adding that a good Fed chair would lower interest rates. The euro has risen nearly 11% for the year thus far, helped in part by a weaker dollar and as investors pour money into European markets in a move away from the U.S. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
