U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday his administration will revoke Harvard University's tax-exempt status, returning to a threat he issued against the Massachusetts school last month as part of his wider attack on elite universities.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon accused the school of "engaging in a systematic pattern of violating federal law."

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday re-upped his threat to strip Harvard University of its tax-exempt status, escalating a showdown with the first major college that has defied the administration’s efforts to crack down on campus activism.