The Trump administration is threatening to yank more than $50 million in Columbia University‘s federal funding, accusing the school of failing to address claims of antisemitism amid pro-Palestinian protests.
The U.S. Education Department, the Department of Health and Human Services and the General Services Administration announced Monday night a federal review of more than $5 billion in federal grants to ensure Columbia is “in compliance with federal regulations, including its civil rights responsibilities.” The General Services Administration provides centralized procurement for the federal government.
As part of the probe, a multiagency task force on antisemitism will consider stop-work orders for $51.4 million in current federal contracts at Columbia, according to a press release. No contracts had been canceled at the time of the announcement.
“Institutions that receive federal funds have a responsibility to protect all students from discrimination,” read a statement from Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who was confirmed Monday. “Columbia’s apparent failure to uphold their end of this basic agreement raises very serious questions about the institution’s fitness to continue doing business with the United States government.”
Columbia released a statement that it was reviewing the communication and is committed to combating antisemitism.
“We look forward to ongoing work with the new federal administration to fight antisemitism, and we will continue to make all efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of our students, faculty, and staff,” the statement read.
President Trump signed an executive order in January promising to use federal resources to combat antisemitism on college campuses. Last week, the antisemitism task force announced it would visit 10 college campuses, including Columbia and New York University, as part of its probe. The announcement followed the launch of a civil rights investigation against Columbia shortly after Trump took office.
Columbia became the epicenter for pro-Palestinian protests last spring when a pro-Palestinian encampment launched a wave of copycat tent cities across American college campuses. The demonstrations came to a head in April when protesters occupied a Columbia academic building, Hamilton Hall.
The protests attracted unwanted scrutiny at the embattled Ivy, with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and other Republican lawmakers trying to get involved in campus operations. Last year, Johnson called on Columbia’s President Minouche Shafik to resign, prompting a group of professors to stand up to politicians who sought to exert their influence. It was not clear on Monday if a similar dynamic would repeat itself following the Trump administration’s announcement.
While the protests have been less frequent this school year, campus organizations have grown increasingly radical in their language and some actions.
In October, an unauthorized coalition of pro-Palestinian student groups, Columbia University Apartheid, announced it backed “armed resistance” in their advocacy. Last week, demonstrators stormed a building at Columbia’s sister school, Barnard College, where a security guard had to seek medical care. The group was protesting the expulsions of two students who interrupted an Israeli history class with flyers that depicted a trampling of the Star of David, a Jewish symbol.
Monday night’s warning was the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s broader assault on what McMahon referred to as “elite university campuses — repeatedly overrun by antisemitic students and agitators.” The Education Department has threatened to withhold funding from colleges that offer diversity, equity and inclusion programming, or permit transgender athletes to participate in women’s sports.
The National Institutes of Health, housed within the Department of Health and Human Services, is also taking steps to cap the amount of money the federal government spends at research universities. That plan is currently held up in the courts.
Last month, Columbia’s medical school implemented a hiring freeze and other belt-tightening measures in anticipation of the cuts. Overall, the university had net assets totaling $19.8 billion last fiscal year.
Originally Published:
