What to Know About Trump Officials' Latest Move Against Columbia

New York Times

23-05-2025

In the latest act in its monthslong targeting of Columbia University, the Trump administration has formally accused the Ivy League institution of violating federal civil rights law by failing to protect Jewish students.
The move, announced late Thursday, came as the White House intensified its crackdown on colleges that refuse to follow its agenda. Hours before releasing its accusations against Columbia, the administration told Harvard that its ability to enroll international students was being suspended, a remarkable step that a federal judge blocked swiftly on Friday.
In the case of Columbia, where pro-Palestinian demonstrations against the war in Gaza ignited a national protest movement last year, the administration accused the university of breaching Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits the recipients of federal funds from engaging in discriminatory behavior.
The potential fallout remained unclear on Friday.
The administration, which previously suspended more than $400 million in research funding to Columbia, did not announce new penalties on Thursday. Earlier this month, administration officials praised the university's acting president, Claire Shipman, for quelling a demonstration at the main library on the Morningside Heights campus in Manhattan.
Here's what we know:
Columbia has already been accused of failings. How is this different?
The move on Thursday appeared to reflect the administration's unusual approach to slashing federal funding to colleges.
Historically, such cancellations would follow a lengthy review process. But, legal experts said, the Trump administration has not always adhered to standard procedure, taking swift action against universities' finances and sometimes notifying news outlets before campus leaders.
The administration has not reached an agreement with Columbia about whether the funds will be restored and discussions are continuing. But the federal government would typically need to release the findings of an investigation before arriving at a resolution with a university, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The announcement on Thursday was considered a step by the administration to formalize its previous accusations against Columbia, rather than a signal of a new, heightened stage of the campaign against the university.
The administration had already accused Columbia of 'ongoing inaction in the face of relentless harassment of Jewish students' when it slashed the federal grants and contracts in March.
And when Columbia was ordered to drastically alter its admissions and disciplinary rules, the administration wrote that the university had failed to protect its campus from 'antisemitic violence and harassment in addition to other alleged violations of Title VI and Title VII.' (Title VII prevents private employers from discriminating based on race, religion or sex.)
In response, Columbia announced changes to campus protest and security policies and new oversight of its Middle Eastern studies department.
Are Columbia and President Trump on rocky terms?
For more than a year, Republicans have clashed with Columbia's leadership over its response to antisemitic episodes on campus. Two university presidents have resigned abruptly, including Katrina Armstrong, who was replaced in March shortly after an appearance at a faculty meeting, where she seemed to downplay the effects of changes that the university had said it would make.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has largely shifted its attention to Harvard.
Harvard's president, Alan Garber, has more fought back more forcefully against Mr. Trump and his administration, and federal officials have cut more than $2.6 billion in federal grants and contracts to the university.
At Columbia, students mounted several large demonstrations toward the end of the spring semester and booed Ms. Shipman during the main commencement ceremony this week. Still, the Trump administration has not complained recently about Columbia's handling of campus protests or antisemitic episodes.
A Columbia spokesman said on Friday that 'we understand this finding is part of our ongoing discussions with the government,' adding that the university was 'deeply committed to combating antisemitism and all forms of harassment and discrimination on our campus.'
Anthony Archeval, the acting director of the Office for Civil Rights at H.H.S., said in a statement that Columbia 'cannot continue to act with deliberate indifference to the hostile environment created by its own students and faculty.' He added that the administration would continue to push for a 'meaningful and enforceable' plan to root out campus discrimination.
Does Title VI apply to religious discrimination?
Title VI prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin.
In 2004, Kenneth L. Marcus, the interim leader of the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights at the time, expanded federal enforcement of Title VI to include ancestry, meaning students who are harassed because of their 'membership in groups that exhibit both ethnic and religious characteristics' such as Arab Muslims or Sikhs.
The Obama administration later endorsed and clarified that interpretation of Title VI. And the Trump administration said on Thursday that Columbia's violations centered on failures to safeguard students 'based on their actual or perceived Israeli or Jewish identity or ancestry.'
The administration said it had released the finding on Thursday after interviews with witnesses, an examination of news reports about antisemitic episodes on campus and a review of Columbia's policies and reports by a university task force on antisemitism.