Trump administration cancels $400M in funding for Columbia University

President Donald Trump's administration canceled $400 million in federal funding for Columbia University Friday, citing "relentless violence, intimidation, and anti-Semitic harassment" on campus.

The federal education department said the university had failed to comply with anti-discrimination laws and "additional cancellations are expected to follow."

"For too long, Columbia has abandoned that obligation to Jewish students studying on its campus," federal education secretary Linda McMahon said in a prepared statement. "Today, we demonstrate to Columbia and other universities that we will not tolerate their appalling inaction any longer."

The education department noted that Columbia holds more than $5 billion in federal grand commitments. It wasn’t clear exactly what programs would be affected by the $400 million clawback.

A Columbia spokesperson said the university is reviewing the announcement, takes it seriously, and will work with the government to restore federal funding.

In a statement later Friday, the university's interim president, Katrina Armstrong, wrote the school remained "committed to working with the federal government to address their legitimate concerns."

"To that end, Columbia can, and will, continue to take serious action toward combatting antisemitism on our campus," Armstrong wrote, linking to a breakdown of steps the school says it has taken to combat antisemitism. "This is our number one priority."

She said the loss of funding would have immediate impacts on "research and other critical functions of the University, impacting students, faculty, staff, research, and patient care."

The university has been the site of multiple student protests since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas militants in Israel and the ongoing war in Gaza. The campus became the focal point of a national movement last spring when pro-Palestinian students set up an encampment. That escalated into an occupation of Hamilton Hall which was met with mass arrests by the NYPD.

The furor prompted Congressional hearings and led to the resignation of Columbia's president, Minouche Shafik, discipline of some of the students involved and an overhaul of university policies.

A task force convened by the university found that hundreds of Jewish students said they faced hate, exclusion and discrimination during the previous academic year, though some students and staff have criticized the task force’s methods. Pro-Palestinian students said they also faced harassment.

The protests have reignited. Earlier this week, pro-Palestinian protesters wearing kaffiyeh scarves briefly occupied Milbank Hall at Barnard College, which is affiliated with Columbia. The occupation followed the expulsion of two Barnard students for disrupting a “History of Modern Israel” class.

The NYPD cleared the building, citing a bomb threat.

The federal education department noted that investigations into antisemitism at Columbia are ongoing.

“Freezing the funds is one of the tools we are using to respond to this spike in anti-Semitism. This is only the beginning,” Department of Justice lawyer Leo Terrell said.

This is a developing story and has been updated.