The Trump administration on Friday announced that it would cancel approximately $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University “due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”
The move comes just days after the administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism notified Columbia that it was going to conduct a “comprehensive review” of the university’s federal grants and contracts.
The task force includes staffers from the Justice Department, Health and Human Services Department, Education Department and the U.S. General Services Administration.
In a statement explaining the cancellation of certain federal grants Friday, Education Secretary Linda McMahon implied that Columbia had not complied with federal antidiscrimination laws.
“Since October 7, Jewish students have faced relentless violence, intimidation, and anti-Semitic harassment on their campuses — only to be ignored by those who are supposed to protect them,” she said in a statement. “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. Today, we demonstrate to Columbia and other universities that we will not tolerate their appalling inaction any longer.”
Shortly after the announcement, Columbia committed to engaging with the Trump administration on the issue in the hopes of restoring the lost federal funds.
“We are reviewing the announcement from the federal agencies and pledge to work with the federal government to restore Columbia’s federal funding. 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 wellbeing of our students, faculty, and staff,” a spokesperson for the university told NBC News.
Columbia’s interim president Katrina Armstrong said in a statement Friday that there was “no question” the cancellation of government funds would impact the university’s critical functions. She also assured Columbia affiliates that the university’s administration is committed to working with the government to address their “legitimate concerns” and that combatting antisemitism on the university’s campus was its “number one priority.”
“Today’s announcement will undoubtedly create anxiety and concern for our entire community. These impacts will touch nearly every corner of the University. But it is during periods like this that our collective dedication to this institution and our mission takes on critical importance,” Armstrong wrote.
In a post on X Friday, McMahon said that she had a “productive meeting” with the university’s interim president Katrina Armstrong.
“Had a productive meeting with Columbia’s interim president Katrina Armstrong today. Look forward to working together to protect all students on their campus. The Trump Administration will not allow the continued harassment and threats of violence against students,” the education secretary wrote.
This comes after Columbia and other universities became the site of large pro-Palestinian protests following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel and the ensuing Israel-Hamas war.
The Biden administration investigated Columbia and other universities multiple times for alleged violations of antidiscrimination laws.
First, in 2023, the Department of Education opened investigations into Columbia and six other colleges and universities for potential violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Last May, the Education Department again launched an investigation into Columbia, that time looking into anti-Palestinian discrimination.
On Friday, Leo Terrell, senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights and the head of the Justice Department Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, said in a statement that canceling these federal funds “is one of the tools we are using to respond to this spike in anti-Semitism.”
“This is only the beginning,” he added.
After the Trump administration’s announcement, Brian Cohen, the executive director of The Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life at Columbia and Barnard said he hoped the move would be a “wake up call” for campus leadership.
“Columbia has an antisemitism crisis, and for months, I have worked with faculty, staff, students, parents, and alumni to urge the administration to act quickly to address this crisis and avoid lasting damage to the University,” Cohen said in a statement. “I hope this federal action is a wake-up call to Columbia’s administration and trustees to take antisemitism and the harassment of Jewish students and faculty seriously so that these grants can be restored, the vital work of the University can continue, and that Columbia can become, once again, a place where the Jewish community thrives.”
Republicans have long-criticized universities and colleges for allowing pro-Palestinian protests to foment in response to the war in Gaza. On the campaign trail last year, Trump called protesters “pro-Hamas radicals” and called for them to be deported.
And even the Biden administration criticized several university presidents after they sidestepped questions from House Republicans during a hearing about antisemitism on college campuses several months after the Hamas attack on Israel.
That hearing led to calls for the three university presidents who participated — Claudine Gay of Harvard University, Elizabeth Magill of the University of Pennsylvania and Sally Kornbluth of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — to resign. Eventually, Gay and Magill did step down.
During Trump’s first term, his administration cut public funding for education only once, when it withheld $4 million in grants from Chicago Public Schools, allegedly over the school system’s poor handling of sexual assault allegations.