Trump Administration Cancels $400 Million in Grants to Columbia University over Anti-Semitism

The the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism which includes four agencies, the DOJ, DOE, HHS and GSA, announced today that it was cutting $400 million in grants and contracts with Columbia University over the school’s failure to combat antisemitism on campus. The announcement said this was just the start.

These cancellations represent the first round of action and additional cancellations are expected to follow. The Task Force is continuing to review and coordinate across federal agencies to identify additional cancellations that could be made swiftly. DOJ, HHS, ED, and GSA are taking this action as members of the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism. Columbia University currently holds more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments.

On March 3, the Task Force notified the Acting President of Columbia University that it would conduct a comprehensive review of the university’s federal contracts and grants  in light of ongoing investigations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Chaos and anti-Semitic harassment have continued on and near campus in the days since. Columbia has not responded to the Task Force.

“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,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “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.”…

“Doing business with the Federal Government is a privilege,” said Josh Gruenbaum, FAS Commissioner and Task Force member. “Columbia University, through their continued and shameful inaction to stop radical protestors from taking over buildings on campus and lack of response to the safety issues for Jewish students, and for that matter — all students — are not upholding the ideals of this Administration or the American people. Columbia cannot expect to retain the privilege of receiving federal taxpayer dollars if they will not fulfill their civil rights responsibilities to protect Jewish students from harassment and anti-Semitism.”

The Trump administration had warned on Monday that this sort of defunding was going to happen if the school didn’t do more to combat antisemitism.

The Trump administration is threatening to cut tens of millions of dollars in federal funding for Columbia University, making the school the first major target in its effort to root out what it considers antisemitic harassment on college campuses.

A comprehensive review of Columbia University’s federal contracts and grants was announced Monday night, shortly after Linda McMahon was confirmed as the secretary of education in a party-line vote.

Columbia has become the focus of federal inquiries into antisemitism on campus starting under the Biden administration.

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.

But the number of investigations has only increased under the Trump administration. Columbia is now the focus of three separate investigations into this issue.

Recently the President of Barnard College, a women’s college associated with Columbia University, has taken some pretty tough action against pro-Hamas protesters, including expelling three students and suspending one more. Just this week the NYPD was called in and wound up arresting nine students who took over the school’s library entryway.

However, Columbia University has not been nearly as aggressive. As far as anyone knowns, it has still not expelled a single person involved in the takeover of an academic building last spring which did thousands of dollars of damage and necessitated a police response. Today, the leader of the campus Jewish community group said the action was long overdue.

“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,” Brian Cohen, the executive director of Hillel on campus, 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,” Mr. Cohen continued, “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.”

Will the grants be restored? I think that depends on whether Columbia can get its mind around actually stopping the pro-Hamas extremists on campus instead of endlessly tolerating their vandalism and disruptions. So far the school has put out a statement vowing to work with the federal government, which is a start. DOE Secretary McMahon said she had held a productive meeting with the school’s interim President.

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. https://t.co/FL3YqiQWcD

— Secretary Linda McMahon (@EDSecMcMahon) March 7, 2025

So maybe they can resolve this but either way this really is just the start, not only for Columbia but for other institutions which are going to have to deal with this problem more aggressively if they want to avoid similar treatment from the Trump administration. The era of coddling pro-terrorism students (and non-student troublemakers) is over.