Lauren Libby
@laurenolibby.bsky.social
Ph.D. in law candidate at Yale Law School. Federal taxation / international tax / nonprofit law / legal history. Devoted mother of two cats.
New piece out in Slate! @slate.com slate.com/news-and-pol...
It’s One of the Worst Things Nixon Did. Trump Is Copying It.
Thanks to Donald, the most dangerous file in Washington is … your mortgage application?
slate.com
August 30, 2025 at 4:30 PM
New piece out in Slate! @slate.com slate.com/news-and-pol...
Is this email a joke?
July 4, 2025 at 1:38 AM
Is this email a joke?
Just woke up from oral surgery and found out the One Big Beautiful Act actually became law. And no, it wasn’t the drugs talking. amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/07/...
Here’s who stands to gain from the ‘big, beautiful bill.’ And who may struggle | CNN Business
President Donald Trump has promised that the “big, beautiful bill” passed by the Senate and being considered by the House of Representatives will be one of the most successful pieces of legislation in...
amp.cnn.com
July 3, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Just woke up from oral surgery and found out the One Big Beautiful Act actually became law. And no, it wasn’t the drugs talking. amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/07/...
The Trump administration is clearly laying the groundwork to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status. This is exactly why Bob Jones needs to be overruled.
amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/06/...
amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/06/...
Trump administration finds Harvard in ‘violent violation’ of Civil Rights Act, threatens further loss of federal funds | CNN Politics
A Trump administration investigation has found Harvard University in “violent violation” of the Civil Rights Act, once more escalating its battle with the school days after President Donald Trump sugg...
amp.cnn.com
June 30, 2025 at 2:41 PM
The Trump administration is clearly laying the groundwork to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status. This is exactly why Bob Jones needs to be overruled.
amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/06/...
amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/06/...
Reposted by Lauren Libby
the president does not actually have the power to fire a university president or a museum director, but if elites simply roll over under pressure, then effectively he does
June 27, 2025 at 5:04 PM
the president does not actually have the power to fire a university president or a museum director, but if elites simply roll over under pressure, then effectively he does
Once again, maybe the real problem isn’t Hillsdale. It’s that Congress keeps trying to write an endowment tax that gives preferential treatment to organized religion, and leaves it to the IRS to decide which institutions qualify. This tax shouldn’t exist at all.
www.politico.com/news/2025/06...
www.politico.com/news/2025/06...
The GOP megabill takes aim at universities. But Hillsdale College gets a carveout.
The institution went so far as to hire lobbyists to make its case — and they were armed with an argument tailored perfectly for the right.
www.politico.com
June 26, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Once again, maybe the real problem isn’t Hillsdale. It’s that Congress keeps trying to write an endowment tax that gives preferential treatment to organized religion, and leaves it to the IRS to decide which institutions qualify. This tax shouldn’t exist at all.
www.politico.com/news/2025/06...
www.politico.com/news/2025/06...
For everyone who’s brushed off the endowment tax and said, “Harvard doesn’t need an endowment, it can just act like a regular business and raise debt like everyone else”...well, here you go. Nothing is safe from the GOP and the Trump administration.
🔗 www.bondbuyer.com/news/rep-ste...
🔗 www.bondbuyer.com/news/rep-ste...
Rep. Stefanik asks SEC to investigate Harvard bond sale for disclosure lapse
"The market itself should want to look at this because no one wants to give the perception of impropriety," said an investor of Stefanik's allegation that Harvard withheld material information regardi...
www.bondbuyer.com
June 23, 2025 at 7:40 PM
For everyone who’s brushed off the endowment tax and said, “Harvard doesn’t need an endowment, it can just act like a regular business and raise debt like everyone else”...well, here you go. Nothing is safe from the GOP and the Trump administration.
🔗 www.bondbuyer.com/news/rep-ste...
🔗 www.bondbuyer.com/news/rep-ste...
On May 23, the IRS said “it is up to the established processes of the IRS to ensure that any nonprofit is abiding by its legal obligations to retain such a designation.”
Now those processes are being rewritten to serve Trump’s agenda. Major departure for the agency. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Now those processes are being rewritten to serve Trump’s agenda. Major departure for the agency. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Treasury Takes Aim at Hundreds of Colleges’ Tax-Exempt Status Over Race
The US Treasury Department is considering changing rules to revoke tax-exempt status for colleges that consider race in student admissions, scholarships and other areas — potentially threatening the f...
www.bloomberg.com
June 11, 2025 at 6:45 PM
On May 23, the IRS said “it is up to the established processes of the IRS to ensure that any nonprofit is abiding by its legal obligations to retain such a designation.”
Now those processes are being rewritten to serve Trump’s agenda. Major departure for the agency. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Now those processes are being rewritten to serve Trump’s agenda. Major departure for the agency. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Lauren Libby
Harvard isn’t violating a law. They’re just killing, you know, the vibe.
(The vibe is state-imposed ideology on higher ed.)
(The vibe is state-imposed ideology on higher ed.)
KENNEDY: Harvard is in many respects violating federal law
SCARBOROUGH: What federal law is Harvard violating?
KENNEDY: Harvard practices ideological capture
SCARBOROUGH: What federal law is Harvard violating?
KENNEDY: Harvard practices ideological capture
June 5, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Harvard isn’t violating a law. They’re just killing, you know, the vibe.
(The vibe is state-imposed ideology on higher ed.)
(The vibe is state-imposed ideology on higher ed.)
This 👏 is 👏 spot 👏 on. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Trump’s Attacks Threaten Much More Than Harvard
If the government succeeds in bullying the richest university into submission, what institutions will be safe?
www.theatlantic.com
May 30, 2025 at 6:05 PM
This 👏 is 👏 spot 👏 on. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Reposted by Lauren Libby
Universities, even public universities (and what's under discussion is a private one) are part of the plurality of civil society. Universities are older than states, have their own purposes and meaning, and are not reducible to what any political administration tries to accomplish.
Linda McMahon: "Universities should continue to be able to do research as long as they're abiding by the laws and in sync, I think, with the administration and what the administration is trying to accomplish."
May 28, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Universities, even public universities (and what's under discussion is a private one) are part of the plurality of civil society. Universities are older than states, have their own purposes and meaning, and are not reducible to what any political administration tries to accomplish.
Reposted by Lauren Libby
International students are more than just funding sources for American students.
May 28, 2025 at 11:30 PM
International students are more than just funding sources for American students.
Reposted by Lauren Libby
Once again, not only an assault on higher education, but also an unprecedented authoritarian attack on property rights, the sanctity of legal contracts, & the rule of law. Even if you hate everything about academia & professors, you should be terrified & furious about this.
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
The Trump administration is moving to cancel all remaining federal contracts with Harvard University, worth an estimated $100 million, in the latest escalation of its battle against the Ivy League institution
Trump to End Federal Contracts With Harvard University
President Donald Trump’s administration is moving to cancel all remaining federal contracts with Harvard University, worth an estimated $100 million, in the latest escalation of its battle against the Ivy League institution.
bloom.bg
May 27, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Once again, not only an assault on higher education, but also an unprecedented authoritarian attack on property rights, the sanctity of legal contracts, & the rule of law. Even if you hate everything about academia & professors, you should be terrified & furious about this.
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
@beaubaumann.bsky.social I bet he’ll actually do it. Someone will sue, courts will say it’s illegal, but Trump will just shrug and the funds will be gone.
I guess the new rule for the executive is ignore the law and implement your policy wishlist straight away.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
I guess the new rule for the executive is ignore the law and implement your policy wishlist straight away.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Trump considers redirecting $3 billion in Harvard grants to US trade schools
President Donald Trump said he is considering taking $3 billion of previously awarded grant money for scientific and engineering research away from Harvard University and giving it to trade schools.
www.reuters.com
May 26, 2025 at 9:12 PM
@beaubaumann.bsky.social I bet he’ll actually do it. Someone will sue, courts will say it’s illegal, but Trump will just shrug and the funds will be gone.
I guess the new rule for the executive is ignore the law and implement your policy wishlist straight away.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
I guess the new rule for the executive is ignore the law and implement your policy wishlist straight away.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
🎙️ Spoke with @yaledailynews about the proposed endowment tax and its potential impact on financial aid, research funding, and international student enrollment.
yaledailynews.com/blog/2025/05...
yaledailynews.com/blog/2025/05...
#HigherEd #EndowmentTax #Yale
yaledailynews.com/blog/2025/05...
yaledailynews.com/blog/2025/05...
#HigherEd #EndowmentTax #Yale
Proposed endowment tax could stifle financial aid, research funding
Experts suggested that student financial aid and funding for university research could be inhibited by a proposed increase on Yale’s endowment tax from 1.4 to 21 percent — and that the options for sch...
yaledailynews.com
May 26, 2025 at 8:48 PM
🎙️ Spoke with @yaledailynews about the proposed endowment tax and its potential impact on financial aid, research funding, and international student enrollment.
yaledailynews.com/blog/2025/05...
yaledailynews.com/blog/2025/05...
#HigherEd #EndowmentTax #Yale
yaledailynews.com/blog/2025/05...
yaledailynews.com/blog/2025/05...
#HigherEd #EndowmentTax #Yale
Reposted by Lauren Libby
Richard Nixon's presidency-ending crimes were harmless high school pranks by comparison. We are so far past the "this should have immediately led to impeachment & removal" that we can't even see the exit/signs anymore. Barack Obama would have been ousted in days if he tried this authoritarian BS.
Major escalation in the Trump administration’s efforts to pressure Harvard University to fall in line with the president’s agenda: It halted the elite school’s ability to enroll international students.
Trump Administration Halts Harvard’s Ability to Enroll International Students
www.nytimes.com
May 22, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Richard Nixon's presidency-ending crimes were harmless high school pranks by comparison. We are so far past the "this should have immediately led to impeachment & removal" that we can't even see the exit/signs anymore. Barack Obama would have been ousted in days if he tried this authoritarian BS.
Reposted by Lauren Libby
My new piece in Slate: The House just passed the most extreme university endowment tax ever proposed. It’s punitive, Trump-approved, and it threatens ALL universities’ ability to enroll foreign students. Here’s what’s in the bill, and why it matters.
slate.com/news-and-pol...
Via @slate.com
slate.com/news-and-pol...
Via @slate.com
Trump Has Found a New and Even Scarier Way to Come For Elite Universities
Among other things, the government would soon find itself deeper in the business of judging what counts as “religion.”
slate.com
May 22, 2025 at 6:46 PM
My new piece in Slate: The House just passed the most extreme university endowment tax ever proposed. It’s punitive, Trump-approved, and it threatens ALL universities’ ability to enroll foreign students. Here’s what’s in the bill, and why it matters.
slate.com/news-and-pol...
Via @slate.com
slate.com/news-and-pol...
Via @slate.com
Great piece by Victor Thuronyi on some of the more bizarre features of the latest GOP endowment tax bill. Do we really want the IRS deciding whether a university’s mission is “predicated upon religious tenets”? Major church autonomy problems here.
www.taxnotes.com/exempt-organ...
www.taxnotes.com/exempt-organ...
Harvard, Yale, and Others May Have Another Litigation Opportunity | Tax Notes
Victor Thuronyi examines the constitutionality of a proposed exception to the excise tax on university endowments and the difficulties in determining whether an institution is truly “religious.”
www.taxnotes.com
May 18, 2025 at 12:49 AM
Great piece by Victor Thuronyi on some of the more bizarre features of the latest GOP endowment tax bill. Do we really want the IRS deciding whether a university’s mission is “predicated upon religious tenets”? Major church autonomy problems here.
www.taxnotes.com/exempt-organ...
www.taxnotes.com/exempt-organ...
Just read David Brennen’s forthcoming Florida Tax Review piece on how SFFA may jeopardize the exempt status of race-conscious charities. Sharp take on the public policy doctrine and risks these orgs face. Thoughtful, timely warning about the future of C3 law.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
The Chilling Effect of
<i>SFFA v. UNC/Harvard </i>on Race-Based Affirmation by Tax-Exempt Charities
In 2023, the Supreme Court decided in <i>SFFA v. Harvard/UNC</i> that colleges and universities are significantly restricted in their ability to engag
papers.ssrn.com
May 16, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Just read David Brennen’s forthcoming Florida Tax Review piece on how SFFA may jeopardize the exempt status of race-conscious charities. Sharp take on the public policy doctrine and risks these orgs face. Thoughtful, timely warning about the future of C3 law.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
🚨 The GOP’s new endowment tax just dropped. It threatens universities by taxing investment income up to 21%, penalizing foreign enrollment, targeting federally funded research, and exempting ideologically favored schools. This is beyond the pale.
🔗 docs.house.gov/meetings/WM/...
🔗 docs.house.gov/meetings/WM/...
docs.house.gov
May 15, 2025 at 7:16 PM
🚨 The GOP’s new endowment tax just dropped. It threatens universities by taxing investment income up to 21%, penalizing foreign enrollment, targeting federally funded research, and exempting ideologically favored schools. This is beyond the pale.
🔗 docs.house.gov/meetings/WM/...
🔗 docs.house.gov/meetings/WM/...
Excited to share that my paper Congress's recent efforts to tax university endowments is now up on SSRN and TaxProf Blog. Forthcoming in Wash. U. L. Rev. next spring.
Timely, given the moment we’re in.
taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog...
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
#Tax #HigherEd #LawReview
Timely, given the moment we’re in.
taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog...
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
#Tax #HigherEd #LawReview
TaxProf Blog: Theories Of University Endowment Taxation
Lauren Libby (Ph.D. Candidate, Yale), Theories of University Endowment Taxation, 103 Wash. U. L. Rev. __ (2025): University endowment taxation is now one of the most significant issues in U.S. federal...
taxprof.typepad.com
May 9, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Excited to share that my paper Congress's recent efforts to tax university endowments is now up on SSRN and TaxProf Blog. Forthcoming in Wash. U. L. Rev. next spring.
Timely, given the moment we’re in.
taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog...
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
#Tax #HigherEd #LawReview
Timely, given the moment we’re in.
taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog...
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
#Tax #HigherEd #LawReview