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       US President Donald Trump said on Friday that his administration would move to strip Harvard University of its tax-exempt status, escalating his confrontation with the Ivy League school.

       “We are going to be taking away Harvard’s tax-exempt status. It’s what they deserve,” Trump wrote on social media.

       The tax-exempt designation allows nonprofits such as universities to avoid federal income taxes and enables donors to claim tax deductions.

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       The statement comes amid tensions between the Trump administration and elite universities over issues including admissions, hiring practices, curriculum oversight and responses to pro-Palestine campus protests.

       Trump earlier threatened to revoke the university’s tax-exempt status, adding: “Tax-exempt status is totally contingent on acting in the public interest!”

       The Trump administration has already cut more than $2 billion in federal grants to Harvard and has taken similar steps against other elite institutions, including freezing Columbia University’s federal funding and launching investigations into dozens of universities.

       Last week, Harvard University sued the Trump administration over the cut.