Columbia reaches $200m settlement with Trump administration over campus antisemitism

By Reuters 24 July 2025, 2:58 am

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Students sit on the front steps of Low Memorial Library on the Columbia University campus in New York City, February 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

Columbia University has reached a deal with US President Donald Trump’s administration over federal funding, it says.

In a statement, the university says it will pay a $200 million fine over three years to settle allegations that it failed to do enough to stop the harassment of Jewish students on campus.

“Under today’s agreement, a vast majority of the federal grants which were terminated or paused in March 2025—will be reinstated and Columbia’s access to billions of dollars in current and future grants will be restored,” Columbia says in a statement.

The US Department of Education doesn’t immediately respond to request for comment.

The announcement Wednesday comes a day after the university disciplined dozens of students over pro-Palestinian protests against Israel on campus.

In March, the Trump administration canceled grants and contracts worth about $400 million for the Ivy League school because of what it described as antisemitic harassment on and near the school’s New York City campus.