The federal government has put a halt to $400 million in grants meant for Columbia University, according to a Friday announcement by the Justice Department’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism.
The cancellation is tied directly to what the administration describes as Columbia’s failure to address ongoing harassment of Jewish students on its campus.
The university’s campus came under scrutiny for hosting heated pro-Palestine protests following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.
A joint statement issued by the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education, and the U.S. General Services Administration noted that the university’s “continued inaction” left them with no other option but to pull the funding.
The statement also warned that additional grant cancellations could be coming. Columbia is said to be managing around $5 billion worth of federal grant commitments, as outlined in the joint release.
On the matter, Education Secretary Linda McMahon did not hold back. “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.
McMahon continued, “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.”
This isn’t the first time federal funding for universities has been threatened over similar issues.
Earlier in President Trump’s administration, schools were cautioned that they could lose grants for hosting antisemitic or controversial diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
The funding withdrawal from Columbia sparked immediate reactions, including criticism from Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.).
On the platform X, Fetterman shared his sharp views on the university’s leadership. “Columbia let antisemitism run amok to cater to lunatic fringe and paid provocateurs. Leadership allowed those assholes to take over the campus and terrorize Jewish students,” he declared.
He didn’t mince words either when expressing support for the funding cut. “Now, Columbia pays for its failure and I support that,” he wrote.
Fetterman’s history with the university includes prior disapproval of its handling of campus demonstrations.
He previously urged the former president of Columbia to step down over protests that allegedly disrupted the school grounds in New York City.
Last year, Fetterman voiced similar sentiments, stating, “I fully agree with the White House — these ‘protests’ are antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous. Add some tiki torches and it’s Charlottesville for these Jewish students.”
He even directed his message to university President Minouche Shafik, writing, “To @Columbia President Minouche Shafik: do your job or resign so Columbia can find someone who will.”
Meanwhile, a Columbia spokesperson responded to the funding cancellation on behalf of the university.
“We are reviewing the announcement from the federal agencies and pledge to work with the federal government to restore Columbia’s federal funding,” the statement read.
The university highlighted its commitment to fulfilling its legal obligations while addressing the gravity of the agency’s decision.
It added, “We take Columbia’s legal obligations seriously and understand how serious this announcement is and are committed to combating antisemitism and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our students, faculty, and staff.”
The only way is for the funding to be completely withheld during a probationary period. Concrete progress must be seen before any funding is considered again. All U.S. institutions of higher learning MUST be monitored for compliance. And additionally, based on the costs to attend these huge universities, why are they not “self supporting”. I’ll tell you why. The faculties made up of liberal academic elitists are massively over paid for the amount of time they actually spend “teaching”, if they do any teaching at all. That too needs to be investigated. The U.S. should demand a comprehensive audit of every university or college that receives federal grants etc.. As Ronald Reagan said “trust but verify”. These institutions are full of bloat because they are hot beds of the radical Left. Fancy degrees mean nothing if the people with them do no teaching at all. They should not be paid for publishing papers.