By Kritika Agarwal
On March 7, members of the Trump administration’s multi-agency Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, including the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, and the U.S. General Services Administration, announced that they are immediately canceling “approximately $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.” The task force said that the cancellations represented only “the first round of action and additional cancellations are expected to follow.”
On March 10, the National Institutes of Health posted on X that it is “terminating more than $250 million in funding – including more than 400 grants – to Columbia University following directives from the Trump administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism.” The agency confirmed to Inside Higher Ed that this $250 million in cuts was part of the overall $400 million in cuts announced previously.
Inside Higher Ed also reported that “Columbia postdocs and faculty have taken to social media to announce canceled grants, fellowships and funding for PhD students, showing some of the individual impacts on people and research” resulting from the cuts.
AAU President Barbara R. Snyder released a statement on March 7 noting the significant harm the administration’s decision to cut Columbia’s funding would have on the university as well as the American people. She said: “It is absolutely critical to root out antisemitism and other forms of discrimination. But that is not the issue here. This unprecedented decision to cut $400 million in federal funding does nothing to end discrimination. It will, however, succeed in harming the university’s 36,000 students, including nursing students, medical students, veterans getting their college degree, students who have transferred from community colleges, and patients seeking care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.”
On LinkedIn, AAU Board Chair and Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber echoed President Snyder’s comments and wrote: “Columbia is a world-class university with outstanding teaching and research programs that enhance America’s health, prosperity, and security. Precipitous cancellation of Columbia’s grants would not only damage that university but also undermine America’s commitments to scientific research, educational excellence, academic freedom, and due process of law.” He urged the Trump administration to “restore the grants and work together with Columbia and other universities to fight antisemitism and ensure that all students can thrive and learn.”
The Columbia announcement represents an escalation in the administration’s effort to cut federal funding – including research funding – to universities as punishment for what the administration claims is their failure to respond adequately to antisemitism. Late last month, the Department of Justice issued a press release noting that the Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism “will be visiting 10 university campuses that have experienced antisemitic incidents since October 2023.”
On March 10, the Department of Education announced that its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has sent letters to 60 institutions “warning them of potential enforcement actions if they do not fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus, including uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities.”
The department separately announced on March 7 that OCR has also directed its “enforcement staff to make resolving the backlog of complaints alleging antisemitic harassment and violence an immediate priority.” (Since that announcement, the department has cut seven out of 12 OCR offices across the country and laid off hundreds of workers in the civil rights division.)
Kritika Agarwal is senior editorial officer at AAU.