Trump administration cancels $400 million in grants for Columbia University
The Trump administration announced it would cancel approximately $400 million in federal grants to Columbia due to "inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students."
The Trump administration on Friday announced that it would cancel approximately $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University "due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students."
The move comes just days after the administration's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism notified Columbia that it was going to conduct a "comprehensive review" of the university's federal grants and contracts.
The task force includes staffers from the Justice Department, Health and Human Services Department, Education Department and the U.S. General Services Administration.
In a statement explaining the cancellation of certain federal grants Friday, Education Secretary Linda McMahon implied that Columbia had not complied with federal antidiscrimination laws.
“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,” she said in a statement. “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.”
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