The president of the largest Christian university in the United States, Brian Mueller, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that after win a legal battle Because of their nonprofit status, they “saw it coming.”

Grand Canyon University (GCU) wins legal battle with 3-panel federal appeal court decision in Phoenix, Arizonalast week.

“We saw it coming because of the way the hearing was conducted. And it was a 3-judge panel. It was a unanimous decision. People try to make everything political,” Mueller told about the Ministry of Education’s objection to the university’s non-authorization. -profit status.

The Biden Education Department (ED) denied GCU nonprofit recognition after it was approved by the Arizona Council for Private Postsecondary Education, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the state of Arizona and the Higher Learning Commission.

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Grand Canyon University President Brian Mueller spoke to Fox News Digital about GCU’s recent legal victory following a Department of Education investigation. (Grand Canyon University)

Mueller further explained to Fox News Digital that the CEO “does not have the authority to deny our nonprofit status.”

“The IRS clearly has the authority to grant us nonprofit status. They use a set of objective criteria to do so, and they have done so. The ED has never honored what the ‘IRS has determined,’ Mueller said.

“This is the first time they’ve done it,” he added.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the Department of Education unlawfully applied an incorrect standard in determining the university’s nonprofit status.

The matter is now referred to the ED.

“Today’s decision is a much-anticipated correction of the Department’s unlawful application of a standard that improperly denied GCU its nonprofit status, and we look forward to prompt affirmation from the university as a nonprofit institution,” GCU spokesman Bob Romantic said. day of judgment by press release.

Former for-profit institution GCU was interviewed by ED shortly after the school returned to a nonprofit model in 2018.

“When the GCU Board of Trustees decided to return the university to its historic status as a nonprofit institution in 2018, it did not envision years of hard-fought litigation against federal agencies,” said Romantic.

The department denied GCU’s nonprofit status for purposes of federal student financial aid and classified the school as a for-profit entity.

The Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the recent decision.

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The president of Grand Canyon University (GCU) told FOX News Digital on Tuesday that the university was being targeted by the Department of Education. (Fox News)

In October 2023, Mueller alleged that GCU was unfairly targeted. The institution responded by filing a lawsuit against ED, arguing that the department’s decision to deny it nonprofit status was “arbitrary and capricious.”

Mueller told Fox News Digital last year, having nonprofit status would help the university have full access to grantmaking and research. GCU’s nonprofit status gives it access to federal dollars because of the institution’s large Hispanic population. It was unable to access these federal funds under the for-profit business category.

An ED official responded to Mueller’s claims in a statement sent to Fox News Digital, saying the department determined under the Trump administration in 2018 that GCU did not meet the definition of a nonprofit organization of the Higher Education Act because the majority of GCU’s revenues were allocated. to a former owner, a for-profit entity.

CGU is the subject of a number of investigations from ED and other federal agencies as well as the threat of being shut down by ED Secretary Miguel Cardona.

Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has vowed to “crack down on the closure” of the largest Christian university in the United States. (House Appropriations Committee)

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Cardona promised in April to close GCU during a House Appropriations Committee hear about for-profit colleges. The Biden administration official claimed that “predatory schools” are “preying on first-generation students.”

GCU faces another hurdle as appeals $37.7 million fine imposed by the ED in November last year following allegations that the Arizona-based higher education institution misled students about the cost of its doctoral programs over several years. The fine is much higher than ED previously imposed on schools like Penn State ($2.4 million) and Michigan State ($4.5 million) for failing to respond to Jerry Sandusky’s crimes and Larry Nassar, respectively.

Furthermore, Republican lawmakers called for the ED Office of Inspector General to review the Biden administration’s conduct with respect to GCU. Among them is Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., who told Fox News Digital that the department’s actions appear “biased.”