On CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) was asked about President Trump's ongoing effort to strip Harvard's tax-exempt status.
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00:00You have long been opposed on principle to the IRS being used to punish an administration's opponents in any way.
00:07You were very outspoken about that during the Obama administration.
00:10We would have you on all the time to talk about it.
00:12And here you are during the Biden administration at a hearing on government weaponization.
00:17Take a listen.
00:19My eyes began opening to this reality with the disclosure of how the Obama administration
00:24weaponized the IRS to harass Tea Party groups by denying them tax-exempt status.
00:31President Trump is out in the open threatening to target Harvard,
00:36a move that the conservative editorial board of The Wall Street Journal says is unwise and sets a bad precedent.
00:42Do you oppose his instruction to the IRS to take away Harvard's tax-exempt status?
00:49Well, first of all, what I would like to do is simplify and rationalize our tax code
00:54so we really don't try and socially and economically engineer the economy through the tax code.
01:01It should be simple.
01:02It should be rational.
01:03It should raise the revenue we have.
01:05The tax-exempt status of all kinds of entities kind of scratch your head.
01:09So many of these entities, for example, universities, pretty easy for them to not make a profit.
01:13So what values that tax-exempt status have?
01:15So, again, that's part of the complication of our tax code.
01:20We need to simplify it, and that's certainly what I'm trying to do, certainly with this reconciliation bill.
01:25Right, but President Trump is out there instructing his IRS to target Harvard,
01:32and you've been very outspoken about when targeting was done of conservative groups during the Obama years,
01:39which he apologized for ultimately.
01:41And I'm wondering if you are also upset at this.
01:45Well, in the past, people have used tax-exempt status on churches and religious universities as well.
01:54Again, that's why I don't like a complex tax code.
01:56I don't want anybody to be using the tax code in this type of manner.
02:01And so what I'd say is let's simplify the tax code.
02:03That's the solution here.
02:05All right.
02:06Senator Ron Johnson, thank you so much for your time today.
02:08I really appreciate it.
02:09I'm honored to be with you.
02:24So let's pray you.
02:26One more time today.
02:28Take care you loudly.
02:30Take care.