The Trump administration announced Friday that it cut $400 million in grants and contracts from Columbia University as Republican officials say “continued inaction” and failed to protect Jewish students at Ivy League institutions.
The allegations were raised in a joint press release from the Administration of Justice, Health and Public Services, Education and General Services, all of which were members of the Anti-Semitism Working Group, and the president rallied by executive orders just one month ago. Earlier this week, the task force said it was reviewing Colombia’s $5 billion federal grant and suggested it could stop some of the university’s contracts. Experts said Friday that the notice was the task force’s first major action and other universities may face similar comments.
“Columbia has for too long waived its obligations to Jewish students studying on campus,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a press release. “Today, we show Columbia and other universities that we will no longer tolerate their shocking inaction.”
Not sure which grants and contracts will be affected, the Ministry of Education has not responded Internal Advanced EDAsk for clear requests.
Colombia officials said the university is “reviewing the announcement” and pledged to “work with the federal government to restore federal funding in Colombia.”
“We take Colombia’s legal obligations seriously … and are committed to combating anti-Semitism,” a spokesperson said in an email. Internal Advanced ED.
Colombia has been a common target for Republicans, whose response to the university’s response to protests since the protests was a series of demonstrations in Gaza since October 7, 2023. This criticism last spring when pro-Palestine student protesters set up a tent camp and later left the Islamic university on campus, the criticism was conquered and built on campus, the company separating from the Islamic university campus, the company separating from the university campus, the company separating from the university campus, the company separating from the university campus, the company separating from the university. These protests, and Colombia’s decision to summon city police in response, sparked not only the national movement, but also the backlash from critics who announced anti-Semitic demonstrations and accused the academy of failing to defend Jewish students.
Trump officials have promised to combat anti-Semitism on campus, and such action on Colombia can serve as an early test case of how the new administration exactly follows the campaign commitments.
But canceling grants and contracts from universities will be unprecedented. Higher Education Policy experts say the notion of unproperly investigated funds that did not conduct proper investigations into the Civil Rights Office, even if it was just a threat.
“You’re not just because you don’t like what they’re doing,” said Jon Fansmith, senior vice president of government relations at the U.S. Board of Education. “The government chooses not only to ignore the facts of precedent, not only norms, but the actual laws covering that should be related to a lot of people, not just people in Colombia.”
The Ministry of Education’s Civil Rights Office is tasked with implementing Chapter VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race and nationality, including anti-Semitism and Islam. Fansmith said the department’s regulations were authorized by Title VI, outlining how the OCR conducts an investigation and what to do if the office finds a violation. OCR must try to reach resolutions with the agency. On rare occasions, universities refuse to comply with the law and can turn the case over to the Department of Justice.
“So, although the law does not specifically determine the process, it determines the necessity of the process,” Fansmith said. “In federal law, there is no place in the government granting arbitrarily different types of federal funds and holding them from institutions that do not have any prior discovery or decisions.”
Republicans on the House Education and Workforce Committee, on the other hand, praised the decision.
“Americans do not want to send money to institutions that serve as breeding sites for hatred and support for terrorism,” said Tim Walberg, Michigan Republican representative who chairs the chairman’s committee, in a statement. “I listen to the people of the United States for the Trump administration and take responsibility without combating anti-Semitism, anti-American values.”
Walberg and then–Committee Chairman Representative Virginia Foxx were key figures in the stern interrogation of then-Colombian President Minouche Shafik last spring. They also summoned the university’s records in August and published an anti-Semitism report deep into the campus in November.
However, these Congressional actions, as well as departmental civil rights investigations, are different from those of the Task Force.
“The whole house report is – I’m sure a lot of people will consider – is a good proof in the OCR investigation,” Fansmith said. “The Trump administration just missed the steps to conduct the investigation by OCR … It’s a requirement in the regulation.”
Colombia should expect to cancel more, the statement said.
A productive meeting was held today with Katrina Armstrong, Interim President of Colombia. Looking forward to working together to protect all students on campus.
The Trump administration will not allow for continued harassment and threats of violence against students. https://t.co/fl3yqiqwcd
– Secretary Linda McMahon (@edsecmcmahon) March 7, 2025
Cut “weaponization” funds
Similar to fan Smith, First Amendment advocates viewed the Trump administration’s move as a promotion designed to intimidate institutions and chill campuses, rather than addressing civil rights violations and hate speech.
While universities must urgently respond to anti-Semitism concerns and ensure students can participate fully and equally in campus life, they need to be given “space, time and resources” to do so,” Kristen Shahverdian, director of the campus freedom of speech program at Pen America, said in a statement. The task force does not allow this, and therefore federal research funding is pending.
The Trump administration “weapons nearly every tool to suppress ideas and pressure agencies that it does not give away to enforce ideological consistency.” “The threat will certainly reverberate in the higher education sector as it intends to do so.”
Tyler Coward, Chief Advisor for Government Affairs at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, told Internal Advanced ED Although losses in funds are potential consequences for institutions that violate anti-discrimination laws, they can only face responsibility if they fail to resolve illegal acts.
“If the government is cutting funds for Chapter 6 violations to Colombia, the decision must be completed clearly and transparently and follow all relevant procedural requirements before that decision,” Coward said, adding that First Amendment protection speech cannot be punished by withdrawal of federal funds. (This version does not provide specific details on how the task force makes a decision.)
This “cancellation immediately” violates the law. If the administrator believes that Colombia violates Chapter 6 by intentionally being indifferent to anti-Semitic harassment, it must give Colombia a chance to have a first hearing, investigate in the record and wait 30 days. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03 …
[image or embed]— Sam Bagenstos (@sbagen.bsky.social.social) March 7, 2025 at 1:27 pm
Fan Smith said he “can’t say” about Columbia’s response to student protests, establishing the 2024 raids and whether the camps are eligible for penalties under a proper OCR investigation. But the Trump administration “clearly thinks it is.”
“If they determine what the outcome will be, then there is no harm in conducting the investigation,” he said. But “it will be a lot of harm if you don’t do this.”
Trump “discussed”
But right-leaning advocates who protect Jewish students and faculty say the move makes sense and necessary.
Kenneth Marcus, a well-known civil rights lawyer who ran for OCR during Trump’s first term, described Trump’s latest behavior as “incredible.”
“If someone didn’t pay attention before, it would have caught their attention,” Marcus said. “Now there is no doubt that the Trump administration prioritizes anti-Semitism on campus much higher than any previous administration has done. They have the scope of Columbia today, but no one would suspect that they would follow other universities as well. ”
McMahon confirmed Marcus’s view of the situation in an interview with Fox News shortly after announcing the cuts.
On a university campus, no student should feel unsafe. @potus It is already clear: Any university or university that allows blatant anti-Semitism to continue on its campus is likely to lose federal funding. pic.twitter.com/gnsfybd3lr
– Secretary Linda McMahon (@edsecmcmahon) March 7, 2025
“The president has said he will never allow federal funds to go to these universities to continue to allow anti-Semitism,” she said. “Kids should go to college, and parents should feel good about their children going to college and know that they are in a safe environment.”
Marcus also praised the Trump administration for using multiple agencies to solve the problem immediately. He said the Justice Department was involved in the least in response to anti-Semitism on campus during Trump’s first term, but this time “the Justice Department is leading the charges” and “the difference is obvious.” Marcus advises that all university administrators should meet with their general attorney this weekend and make sure they do everything they can to protect all students.
“The last time the government talked about the whole government’s approach. This government is speaking,” he said.
