Trump cancels $400m in federal funding to Columbia University over 'antisemitism'

The Trump administration announced on Friday that Columbia University would lose $400 million in federal grants and contracts for failing to adequately combat antisemitism. This move is part of a broader effort by the federal government to address antisemitic incidents on university campuses, reflecting the administration's zero-tolerance stance towards such behavior. The government aims to ensure a safe and inclusive environment for all students, particularly those of Jewish faith.

On Monday, a federal task force notified the Ivy League institution that its federal contracts and grants would be subject to a "full review" as part of an ongoing investigation under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. This review aims to assess Columbia University's performance in protecting Jewish students from harassment and ensuring its compliance with federal laws and regulations. The investigation seeks to identify any systemic failures in addressing and preventing antisemitism on campus.

The "Combating Antisemitism Federal Task Force" comprises four government agencies: the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, and the U.S. General Services Administration. Established in February, the task force is a follow-up to President Trump's executive order on "Supplementary Measures to Combat Antisemitism." The task force announced last week that it would visit ten university campuses that have experienced antisemitic incidents since October 2023, following the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.

In a [joint news statement](https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/doj-hhs-ed-and-gsa-announce-initial-cancelation-of-grants-and-contracts-columbia-university-worth-400-million#:~:text=WASHINGTON%20%E2%80%94%20Today%2C%20the%20Department%20of,Columbia%20University%20due%20to%20the) released on Friday, the agencies stated that the funding cuts were due to the "school's continued inaction in the face of ongoing harassment of Jewish students." Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in the press release: "Since October 7, 2023, Jewish students have faced relentless violence, intimidation, and antisemitic harassment on their campus—ignored by those who were supposed to protect them." The Department of Education is committed to holding institutions accountable for failing to address antisemitism.

The statement warned that this cancellation is only the first round of actions, with more expected in the future. Columbia University currently holds over $5 billion in federal grant commitments. The amount announced today is more than eight times the amount the federal task force announced it was considering suspending on Monday. Former Fox News commentator Leo Terrell, who heads the task force, said: "Freezing funds is one of the tools we're using to combat the surge in antisemitism. This is just the beginning. Canceling these taxpayer dollars is the strongest signal we've sent to date that the federal government will not engage with educational institutions like Columbia University that fail to protect Jewish students and faculty."

The Ivy League institution has been accused of allowing antisemitism to fester on its campus following a series of protests and encampments last year sparked by Israel's war on Gaza. Universities across the country followed suit after Columbia University students established encampments. While university leadership has condemned the protests, the institution continues to be targeted by the government. Both the Biden and Trump administrations have sought to characterize anti-Israel and anti-Zionist protests as "antisemitic," leading to congressional hearings where lawmakers grilled university administrators and law enforcement forcibly suppressed protests on campuses.

The U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a congressional hearing last April titled "Columbia in Crisis: Columbia University's Response to Antisemitism." Lawmakers questioned former President Minouche Shafik and other co-chairs of the board of trustees, who were described as engaging in "new McCarthyism" in a letter from nearly twenty Jewish faculty members at Columbia University and its affiliate, Barnard College. Observers say the action against one of America's most liberal universities is designed to have a chilling effect nationwide. The task force is also investigating nine other universities.

Faced with political backlash, universities like New York University and Harvard University have [adopted](https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/harvard-adopts-controversial-ihra-antisemitism-definition) the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism as they come under scrutiny from the federal government. After Trump took office, he ordered a pause on federal grants and loans, but the order was later blocked by a judge. The Associated Press [reported](https://apnews.com/article/trump-federal-grants-pause-freeze-e5f512ae6f1212f621d5fa9bbec95e08) in February that Trump's directive left universities across the country "scrambling to determine how the funding freeze would affect their research projects, students and faculty."

An American university anthropology professor, who wished to remain anonymous, told Middle East Eye: "Columbia's endowment is so huge it can afford to lose and subsidize research, but other universities, especially public research universities, will be in dire straits, and their research could collapse. Second-tier or R2 universities certainly cannot afford the loss of research money, and their research will grind to a halt." The financial impact of these funding cuts could significantly hinder research and academic progress at affected institutions.

Columbia University tenured law professor Katherine Franke was forced into early retirement by Columbia University for expressing concerns to [Democracy Now!](https://www.democracynow.org/2024/1/25/columbia_palestine_protest_attack) about Israeli students entering Columbia University after just completing military service. Franke said that what happened to her is just part of a larger climate targeting academic freedom. "If you look at what's happening on our campus, it's always been about anti-Palestinian racism that's being disguised as combating antisemitism. They're not going to stop there - that's just low-hanging fruit," Franke [told MEE](https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/columbia-university-professor-files-grievance-termination) in January. "What they're going to attack next is critical legal studies, critical race theory, feminism, queer theory, all the ideas that the right wing finds dangerous."

Task force member Josh Greenbaum said in his press release: "Doing business with the federal government is a privilege." Franke added that Florida has been a testing ground for limiting academic freedom, where Republicans are reforming the education system, or as Franke put it, potentially "sabotaging it." The ongoing debate surrounding academic freedom and political influence continues to shape the landscape of higher education in the United States.