On Friday, March 7, the Trump administration announced the cancellation of $400 million in federal funding to Columbia due to its alleged inaction against the harassment of Jewish students.

On Friday, March 7, the Trump administration announced via a press release that it is canceling $400 million in federal funding to Columbia University. The release cited the institution’s alleged “inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”

The announcement follows several campus protests and demonstrations over the past two weeks. On February 26, a group of students held a sit-in at Milbank Hall protesting the expulsion of two students involved in the disruption of a History of Modern Israel class. Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) organized an additional picket line at the Barnard gates in solidarity with the two expelled students the following day. On March 5, pro-Palestinian demonstrators held a sit-in in Barnard’s Milstein Center after a third expulsion was announced. The sit-in resulted in nine arrests.

Josh Gruenbaum, Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner and Member of the Joint Task Force on Anti-Semitism, condemned the University administration’s response to these protests, stating in a press release that Columbia’s “continued and shameful inaction” and “lack of response to the safety issues for Jewish students” does not uphold the ideals of the Trump Administration.

The specific grants being revoked by the federal government remain unclear, according to a Reuters report. The U.S. General Services Administration will assist the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education in issuing stop-work orders, immediately freezing Columbia’s access to funding from grants and contracts held with these agencies.

The order to cancel funding follows the Task Force’s March 3 notice to Interim Columbia President Katrina Armstrong. The notice announced a review of the University’s federal grants and contracts amid ongoing investigations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin. 

The following day, on March 4, President Trump posted on Truth Social that “all Federal Funding will STOP for any […] University that allows illegal protests. Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came.”

Columbia’s 2024 financial statement reports that over $1.3 billion—nearly 20% of its $6.6 billion annual operating revenue—comes from federal research grants. In 2023, Columbia received $747 million from the NIH and $206 million from other Health and Human Services programs.

Leo Terrell, Head of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Task Force, warned of the potential for more stringent measures in the press release, stating that “freezing the funds is one of the tools we are using to respond to this spike in anti-Semitism. This is only the beginning.”

In response, in a statement to NPR, Columbia spokeswoman Samantha Slater said that University officials are reviewing the notice and are working to restore federal funding. The University will have 30 days to address the government’s concerns to potentially reinstate government contracts.

On Friday evening, Interim Columbia President Katrina Armstrong sent an email to the Columbia community addressing the cancellation of funds, writing that “There is no question that the cancellation of these funds will immediately impact research and other critical functions of the University, impacting students, faculty, staff, research, and patient care.”

In response to the cancellations, the University is “working with the federal government to address their legitimate concerns,” including “combatting antisemitism,” a statement on which she linked a University website page detailing plans to address antisemitism on campus. The plans include increasing public safety presence, assessing and modifying disciplinary processes for increased efficiency, monitoring social media platforms, and launching various educational programming, among other initiatives.

“This is our number one priority,” Armstrong wrote, noting that the University’s “north star” has not changed and that it will continue to pursue its mission of impactful education and research. She also emphasized the importance of adhering to this mission through “​​viewpoint diversity and rigorous, fact-based debate,” and that “antisemitism, violence, discrimination, harassment, and other behaviors that violate our values or disrupt teaching, learning, or research are antithetical to our mission.”

Armstrong stated that, upon being appointed Interim President, she knew the University required a “reset from the previous year and the chaos of encampments and protests on our campus” and needed to “repair the damage” done to Jewish students. She reflected on her first actions in the position, which included ​appointing a new Rules Administrator, creating the Office of Institutional Equity, and increasing resources for Public Safety. She stated that these measures have “transformed the University’s approach to managing demonstrations,” and allowed the Columbia community to remain focused on education and research throughout the year. 

She asserted that each day, she is “standing up for […] students,” which requires looking at “not just our achievements, but at our failures and shortcomings.” 

“That’s something doctors do for their patients every day, and something I’m committed to doing for as long as I have the privilege of serving as the leader of this distinguished and storied institution,” she wrote.

Armstrong concluded her email with a call to remain unified as a University and adhere to the institution’s mission and values, stating, “We must hold firm and summon the courage to meet this moment with determination, integrity and humility.”

Email from Columbia Interim President Katrina Armstrong to the Columbia community at 5:33 pm on Friday, March 7:

Dear members of the Columbia community:

Columbia’s mission is to teach, create, and advance knowledge. For over 270 years, that mission has been grounded in an enduring and essential commitment to freedom of expression, open inquiry, and generous, respectful debate.

Today, we were notified of federal action from Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Education (ED), and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) cancelling $400 million in federal funding to the University. The federal agencies cite “the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”

There is no question that the cancellation of these funds will immediately impact research and other critical functions of the University, impacting students, faculty, staff, research, and patient care.

But let me be very clear: Columbia is taking the government’s action very seriously. I want to assure the entire Columbia community that we are 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.

This is our number one priority.

Today’s announcement will undoubtedly create anxiety and concern for our entire community. These impacts will touch nearly every corner of the University. But it is during periods like this that our collective dedication to this institution and our mission takes on critical importance.

Our north star has not changed. We are committed to education and research that will benefit our nation and our world. We believe in the power of knowledge to drive progress and improve lives. Our mission as a great research university does not waver.

Sustaining this mission requires us to actively nurture a community that values viewpoint diversity and rigorous, fact-based debate built upon mutual respect and personal accountability. Our ability to successfully fulfill our purpose depends on us defending these values. Antisemitism, violence, discrimination, harassment, and other behaviors that violate our values or disrupt teaching, learning, or research are antithetical to our mission. We must continue to work to address any instances of these unacceptable behaviors on our campus. We must work every day to do better.

When I accepted the role of Interim President in August 2024, I knew Columbia needed a reset from the previous year and the chaos of encampments and protests on our campus. The University also needed to acknowledge and repair the damage to our Jewish students, who were targeted, harassed, and made to feel unsafe or unwelcome on our campus last spring.

My first action as Interim President was to clarify our Rules of University Conduct and strengthen our disciplinary process. We did that by appointing a new Rules Administrator, establishing an Office of Institutional Equity to combat antisemitism and all forms of harassment and discrimination on campus, and increasing resources and training for our Public Safety team.

We have transformed the University’s approach to managing demonstrations, built and put into action disciplinary processes that previously existed only on paper, created collaboratives across our campuses to provide relevant education and training, implemented new anti-discrimination policies and trained our entire community on those policies, changed our protocols for campus access, and redesigned our leadership structures to more swiftly respond to incidents of antisemitism and discrimination on campus. As a result, our campus has retained its focus on our academic mission throughout this academic year.

Each morning, I remind myself that I am standing up for our students. Because every student deserves to have the best possible experience and because our nation deserves to have the best leaders that the best universities can create. The only way we can achieve that goal is to look honestly and deeply at not just our achievements, but at our failures and shortcomings, and ask ourselves how we can do better. That’s something doctors do for their patients every day, and something I’m committed to doing for as long as I have the privilege of serving as the leader of this distinguished and storied institution.

At this time of great risk to our University, I challenge every member of our community, including our students, faculty, and staff, to reaffirm your commitment and participation in building a Columbia that truly reflects the ingenuity, curiosity, excitement, and sense of purpose we share as part of this unique institution.

No one can forecast with certainty what the future will hold. However, I do know this: a unified Columbia, one that remains focused on our mission and our values, will succeed in making the uncommonly valuable contributions to society that have distinguished this great university from its peers over the last 270 years. Being part of this esteemed institution of learning and research is a privilege that we should never take for granted.

We must hold firm and summon the courage to meet this moment with determination, integrity and humility. I look forward to working with all of you to achieve exactly this.

Sincerely,

Katrina Armstrong

Interim President, Columbia University in the City of New York

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