Thu Jul 24 04:01:55 UTC 2025: ## Columbia University Settles with Trump Administration Over Anti-Semitism Claims, Freezes on Federal Funds Lifted
**New York, NY** – Columbia University has reached a $221 million settlement with the US government, resolving claims stemming from the Trump administration accusing the Ivy League institution of failing to adequately address anti-Semitism on campus. The agreement, announced Wednesday, will see the reinstatement of the “vast majority” of approximately $400 million in federal grants that were previously frozen.
The settlement allows Columbia to regain access to significant federal funding, critical to its research and academic endeavors. In exchange, Columbia has committed to reforms addressing harassment against Jewish students, including increased security personnel, changes to disciplinary procedures, and efforts to foster a more inclusive environment. Furthermore, the university has pledged to maintain merit-based admissions and end programs perceived as promoting race-based outcomes or diversity quotas.
According to the university, the agreement formalizes reforms already announced in March. However, acting President Claire Shipman emphasized that Columbia does not admit to violating civil rights law, but acknowledges the serious challenges the university faces regarding anti-Semitism.
“We might have achieved short-term litigation victories, but not without incurring deeper long-term damage – the likely loss of future federal funding, the possibility of losing accreditation, and the potential revocation of visa status of thousands of international students,” Shipman stated.
The settlement is being touted as a victory by former President Donald Trump, who, in a post on his Truth Social platform, described it as “historic” and suggested similar actions against other higher education institutions are forthcoming. “Numerous other Higher Education Institutions that have hurt so many, and been so unfair and unjust, and have wrongly spent federal money, much of it from our government, are upcoming,” he wrote.
The agreement has sparked considerable controversy. Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a student activist group, criticized the settlement as a “bribe,” accusing the university of selling out its students to maintain funding.
The settlement comes in the wake of widespread protests at Columbia and other universities related to the conflict in Gaza. These protests, while advocating for Palestinian rights, have been the subject of intense debate, with many Jewish students and faculty expressing concerns about anti-Semitic undertones. Columbia has recently concluded disciplinary proceedings against students involved in these protests, resulting in suspensions and expulsions that CUAD claims are disproportionate. The group reports that nearly 80 students faced disciplinary action for participation in campus protests.
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