The Trump administration canceled $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University, fulfilling one of President Donald Trump’s campaign promises to remove funding from schools that fail to take action against antisemitism.
The Friday announcement comes two days after dozens of anti-Israel protesters took over a library on Barnard College’s campus, which is affiliated with Columbia University. Columbia and Barnard have seen some of the most intense anti-Israel protests since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack.
Leo Terrell, Senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights and head of the DOJ Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, said canceling funding for the school is its “strongest signal” to show that antisemitism will not be tolerated.
“Freezing the funds is one of the tools we are using to respond to this spike in antisemitism,” Terrell said in a statement. “This is only the beginning.”
Columbia University currently holds $5 billion in federal grant commitments.
A Columbia University spokesperson told the Washington Examiner that the school is working with the federal government to restore its funding.
“We are reviewing the announcement from the federal agencies and pledge to work with the federal government to restore Columbia’s federal funding,” the spokesperson said. “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.”
On March 3, the Department of Justice’s Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism announced it would be conducting an ongoing investigation under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 regarding incidents of antisemitism on the college campus.
“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,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said. “Universities must comply with all federal anti-discrimination 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.”
The move to end funding was a collaborative effort between the departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, and Education and the General Services Administration.
Prior to the takeover of the Barnard library, an anti-Israel protest broke out on campus last Wednesday and Thursday, resulting in the arrests of four people.
TRACKING WHAT DOGE IS DOING ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Trump promised on the campaign trail that he would remove federal funding from any university that failed to adequately investigate or punish antisemitic activity on its campus.
“We will not subsidize the creation of terrorist sympathizers, and we’re not going to do it — certainly on American soil,” Trump said.
