Columbia University reached a deal on Wednesday with the Trump administration to pay more than $200 million to restore federal funding that was rescinded after the Ivy League institution was accused of promoting antisemitism following last year’s Israel-Gaza protests on campus.
According to The Hill, the settlement stipulates that the school will pay $200 million to the federal government over three years and $21 million to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The Columbia University-Trump administration deal, explained
Columbia University acting President Claire Shipman stated that the agreement was a “step forward” in restoring the school’s much-needed relationship with the federal government to maintain its policies.
“This agreement marks an important step forward after a period of sustained federal scrutiny and institutional uncertainty,” Shipman said.
“The settlement was carefully crafted to protect the values that define us and allow our essential research partnership with the federal government to get back on track,” she added.
Shipman’s controversial relationship with Columbia University students and the federal government
Shipman faced backlash for conceding to the administration’s demands, which included ousting international students who participated in the political demonstrations.
In May, she was also booed during Columbia University’s 2025 commencement ceremony after student and pro-Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil missed his graduation after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in March, Blavity reported. He was released on June 20.
Regarding the settlement, Shipman stated that the school would receive the $400 million in federal funding that the administration had previously stripped in March. Columbia University was the first of more than 600 universities targeted by the administration over campus-led protests and its diversity, equity and inclusion programs, according to the BBC.
The Trump administration is holding universities ‘accountable’
On Wednesday, Trump shared the news in a Truth Social post: “Columbia has also committed to ending their ridiculous DEI policies, admitting students based ONLY on MERIT, and protecting the Civil Liberties of their students on campus.
“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.”
CNN reported that Education Secretary Linda McMahon also spoke on the agreement, calling it a “seismic shift in our nation’s fight to hold institutions that accept American taxpayer dollars accountable for antisemitic discrimination and harassment.”
“I believe they will ripple across the higher education sector and change the course of campus culture for years to come,” McMahon added.
While Columbia University complied with the administration’s demands, another Ivy League institution, Harvard University, pushed back with a lawsuit against the administration after it froze federal funding in April, Blavity reported.
The following month, the federal government blocked the school from enrolling new international students, escalating the existing tension between the parties.
