The Trump administration announced on Friday that it was canceling $400 million in grants and contracts with Columbia University because of what it said was “the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”
The action came just a few days after the administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism had notified Columbia 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.”
The task force is made up of staff from the Justice Department, Health and Human Services Department, Education Department and the U.S. General Services Administration.
“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, in a news release.
“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,” McMahon added.
The release did not specify which contracts or grants were being targeted, but it indicated the cancelations represent only the Task Force’s first action. Additional cancelations are expected.
In January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to combat antisemitism, with college and universities squarely in the crosshairs. Still, Friday’s announcement came with unusual suddenness. Civil rights investigations of this kind typically require months or years to conclude, often with protracted negotiations between the parties. Taking punitive action the same week an investigation was initiated appears to be without precedent.
“Freezing the funds is one of the tools we are using to respond to this spike in anti-Semitism. This is only the beginning,” said Leo Terrell, Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights and head of the Task Force. “Canceling these taxpayer funds is our strongest signal yet that the Federal Government is not going to be party to an educational institution like Columbia that does not protect Jewish students and staff.”
The action is just the latest in a series of problems for Columbia stemming from last year’s campus protests over the war in Gaza. The Biden administration had also conducted a civil rights investigations into seven schools, including Columbia, over allegations of antisemitism or Islamophobia following the Israel-Hamas war.
Last August Columbia University President Minouche Shafik suddenly announced she was resigning following months of turmoil over her handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus. Those protests spread to campuses across the nation and resulted in thousands of arrests, a flurry of charges of antisemitism and Islamophobia, debates about the free speech rights and their limits, and the departures of several other high-profile university presidents.
In the wake of the protests, Columbia had appointed its own Task Force on Antisemitism, composed of faculty across schools, disciplines, and backgrounds. It was charged with addressing the harmful impact of antisemitism on Jewish members of the Columbia community and ensuring the protection of all members of the University community.
Columbia indicated it was reviewing the Task Force announcement, and it pledged to work with the government to try to get the funding reinstated.
“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 university spokesperson told NBC News.
In a Friday afternoon post on X, McMahon said she had “a productive meeting with Columbia’s interim president Katrina Armstrong today. Look forward to working together to protect all students on their campus.”