Trump administration cancels $400 million in grants and contracts with Columbia University
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- The Trump administration is pulling $400 million from Columbia University because of what the government describes as the school’s failure to stop campus antisemitism.
- Columbia vowed to work with the government to try to get the money back.
NEW YORK — The Trump administration said Friday that it’s pulling $400 million from Columbia University, canceling grants and contracts because of what the government describes as the Ivy League school’s failure to squelch antisemitism on campus.
The notice came five days after federal agencies announced they were considering orders to stop work on $51 million in contracts with the New York City university and reviewing its eligibility for more than $5 billion in federal grants going forward. And it came after Columbia set up a new disciplinary committee and ramped up its own investigations into students critical of Israel and its war on Gaza, alarming free speech advocates.
But Columbia’s efforts evidently didn’t go far enough for the federal government.
“Universities must comply with all federal antidiscrimination laws if they are going to receive federal funding. For too long, Columbia has abandoned that obligation to Jewish students studying on its campus,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement Friday.
Columbia vowed to work with the government to try to get the money back.
The department is investigating the University of California, saying there could be a ‘potential pattern’ of discrimination against Jewish employees.
“We take Columbia’s legal obligations seriously and understand how serious this announcement is and are committed to combatting antisemitism and ensuring the safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff,” the university said in a statement.
The Trump administration’s move against Columbia came as California universities, recipients of billions of dollars in federal funding, have expressed concern over their status as the White House also singles out the state’s campuses for responses to pro-Palestinian protests.
Major pro-Palestinian protests took place at UC campuses, including UCLA, where vigilantes attacked an encampment on April 30 and May 1. The university has been sued in federal court under allegations that it enabled antisemitism. Protesters have also sued the university for its mishandling of demonstrations.
On Wednesday, the Department of Justice said it was investigating the University of California, including UCLA, for a “potential pattern” of discrimination against Jewish employees. The investigation employs a civil rights law used under Democratic administrations to probe police departments for racially discriminatory practices against local residents.
On Tuesday, President Trump declared on his social media platform that “All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests.” He did not define which protests were deemed “illegal,” and 1st Amendment experts said he does not have the power to change free speech rights.
The Justice Department announced the UC investigation after Trump pledged in a Jan. 30 executive order to “marshal all Federal resources to combat the explosion of antisemitism on our campuses and in our streets.”
A federal task force charged with combating antisemitism also said last month that it would visit 10 U.S. campuses, including UCLA, USC and UC Berkeley, as part of research into allegations of anti-Jewish campus incidents in the wake of protests since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s retaliatory war in the Gaza Strip.
The universities have said they stand against antisemitism and will cooperate with government authorities. They have touted measures taken since 2023 focused on Jewish student life, academics and protest rules.
The Trump administration has announced no actions against universities in response to an outpouring of complaints over anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab and anti-Muslim incidents.
It is not clear which research programs, projects or activities would be affected by the cuts at Columbia, which operates a medical center among many other functions. The university said it was reviewing the announcement. An inquiry was sent to the federal Education Department, which along with the Health and Justice departments and the General Services Administration issued Friday’s announcement.
Alongside UCLA, Columbia was at the forefront of U.S. campus protests over the war last spring. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators set up an encampment in April and inspired a wave of similar protests. Protesters went on to seize a campus building, resulting in dozens of arrests when police cleared it.
In recent days, a much smaller contingent of demonstrators have staged brief occupations of buildings at Columbia-affiliated Barnard College to protest the expulsion of two students accused of disrupting an Israeli history class. Several students were arrested following an hours-long takeover of a building Wednesday.
The DOJ announced that a federal “task force to combat antisemitism” would visit 10 U.S. college campuses as part of investigations into allegations of antisemitic incidents, including three California institutions.
Many people involved in the protests said there’s nothing antisemitic about criticizing Israel over its actions in Gaza or expressing solidarity with Palestinians.
Columbia has acknowledged concerns about antisemitism: A university task force said last summer that Jews and Israelis at the school were ostracized from student groups, humiliated in classrooms and subjected to verbal abuse amid the spring demonstrations.
Some students, and an attorney advising them, see the new disciplinary crackdown as an effort to mollify the government by suppressing pro-Palestinian speech.
Columbia was one of five colleges that has come under new federal antisemitism investigations, and it’s among the 10 being visited by the federal antisemitism task force.
Others under investigation include UC Berkeley, the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. In addition to UCLA, USC and UC Berkeley, the task force said it will visit George Washington University, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, New York University, the University of Minnesota and Northwestern.
Peltz writes for the Associated Press.
