On Friday, the Trump administration announced that it is cutting $400 million in funding for Columbia University. The government is cancelling grants and contracts, claiming that the university has failed to stop antisemitism on its campus.

The notice was issued five days after federal agencies announced they were looking into halting $51 million worth of contracts with Columbia University and reviewing its eligibility for over $5 billion in future federal grants. This followed Columbia's creation of a new disciplinary committee and its increased investigation into students who were critical of Israel, which raised concerns among free speech advocates. Columbia's actions didn’t fully satisfy the federal government. To receive federal funding, universities must follow all antidiscrimination laws. However, Education Secretary Linda McMahon stated on Friday that Columbia has failed in this duty toward its Jewish students for too long. 

She later posted on X that she'd “had a productive meeting with the university's interim president, Katrina Armstrong, and anticipated working together to protect all students." "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 well-being of our students, faculty and staff,” the university said in a statement. It is unclear which research, projects, or activities at Columbia University will be impacted. The university, which includes a medical centre among its many functions, stated that it is reviewing the announcement. An inquiry was sent to the federal Education Department, which, along with the Health and Justice departments and the General Services Administration, issued Friday’s announcement.

"The action is an unconstitutional government attempt to force colleges and universities to censor student speech and advocacy that isn't MAGA-approved, such as criticising Israel or supporting Palestinian rights," said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “But the $400 million cutoff was welcome news to Columbia/Barnard Hillel, a Jewish student group. Executive Director Brian Cohen said he hoped it would be a wake-up call to Columbia's administration and trustees to take antisemitism and the harassment of Jewish students and faculty seriously." A request for a comment was sent to a group of pro-Palestinian protesters. 

Columbia University is the first college targeted in President Donald Trump's plan to cut federal funding for schools accused of allowing antisemitism. This action comes in response to the Israel-Hamas war that started in October 2023. Last spring, Columbia became a key site for protests about the war. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators set up an encampment in April, which sparked similar protests at other campuses. Some protesters later took over a campus building, leading to multiple arrests when police intervened. Former Columbia University President Minouche Shafik faced tough questioning from congressional Republicans about how the university handled antisemitism. She stated that she was fully committed to addressing the issue. However, she resigned four months later.

A few weeks after her resignation, a university task force reported that Jewish and Israeli students at Columbia were being excluded from student groups, mistreated in classrooms and verbally harassed, especially during the spring protests. Recently, a smaller group of demonstrators briefly occupied buildings at Barnard College, which is affiliated with Columbia. They were protesting the expulsion of two students accused of disrupting an Israeli history class.

On Wednesday, after an hour long takeover of a building, several students were arrested. Many protestors have argued that criticising Israel’s actions in Gaza or supporting Palestinians is not antisemitic. Some students, along with an attorney guiding them, believe the university's stricter disciplinary actions aim to appease the government by limiting pro-Palestinian speech. Columbia is one of several universities now facing new federal investigations into antisemitism, along with UC Berkeley, the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University.