Trump cancels $400M in grants to Columbia U over antisemitism

According to the Columbia Spectator, $1.3 billion of the university’s 2024 operating budget came from federal grants.

By Ben Sales, JTA

The Trump administration has canceled $400 million worth of grants to Columbia University, following through on threats to pull funding from the school over objections to campus antisemitism.

The grants came from the Department of Health and Human Services, which announced the cuts on Friday, as well as the Departments of Justice and Education and the General Services Administration. The statement warned that more cuts could follow.

“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,” said Linda McMahon, the education secretary.

“For too long, Columbia has abandoned that obligation to Jewish students studying on its campus.”

The announcement did not detail which grants were canceled, nor what they funded, but most federal grants to universities tend to support science research.

According to the Columbia Spectator, $1.3 billion of the university’s 2024 operating budget came from federal grants. Federal grant funding to Columbia, covering multiple years, totals more than $5 billion, the government statement said.

The announcement is one of a range of actions and pledges the Trump administration has taken to target university funding.

Columbia responded in a statement to multiple outlets that it “pledge[s] to work with the federal government to restore Columbia’s federal funding.”

The statement added, “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.”

Brian Cohen, the executive director of Columbia/Barnard Hillel, said in a statement that the Trump administration announcement was a “wake-up call.”

He said he hoped university leaders will “take antisemitism and the harassment of Jewish students and faculty seriously so that these grants can be restored, the vital work of the University can continue, and that Columbia can become, once again, a place where the Jewish community thrives.”

On Monday, the same government departments had said they were reviewing funding to Columbia and considering cutting it over concerns regarding the school’s response to campus antisemitism.

The next day, President Donald Trump posted, “All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests.”

Since then, nine people were arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest featuring pro-Hamas materials at Barnard College, which is affiliated with Columbia. Several of the people arrested were students at Columbia.

On Friday, Axios reported that the administration is using artificial intelligence to detect and deport foreign-born students who support Hamas.