Donald Trump has escalated his attacks on America’s elite colleges amid ongoing investigations into allegations of antisemitism after anti-Israel protests spread across the country’s campuses.
The administration announced on Tuesday that it had frozen over $1 billion in funding from Cornell University and $790 million from Northwestern University amid ‘several ongoing credible and concerning Title IV investigations,’ the New York Post reports.
Title IV of the Civil Rights Act prohibits institutions of higher education from receiving any federal funding if they participate in or enable discrimination based on race, national origin, religion or other characteristics.
By invoking the act, the Trump administration is pausing grants and contracts with the federal departments of health, education, agriculture and defense, a Trump official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The two schools are now the latest to be targeted by the administration, after it pulled $400 million in federal funding from Columbia University over its handling of the protests last year.
Both Cornell and Northwestern were included in a list of 60 universities that the Trump administration warned last month could face enforcement actions if a review determined the schools had failed to quell the antisemitism on its campuses.
But a spokesperson for Northwestern said on Tuesday they had not received any official notification from the federal government about the funding freeze – and only found out about it from members of the media.
‘Federal funds that Northwestern receives drive innovative and life-saving research, like the recent development by Northwestern researchers of the world’s smallest pacemaker, and research fueling the fight against Alzheimer’s disease,’ the spokesperson said.
‘This type of research is now in jeopardy.’
President Donald Trump’s administration has escalated his attacks on America’s elite colleges amid ongoing investigations into allegations of antisemitism
The administration announced on Tuesday that it had frozen over $1 billion in funding from Cornell University
It also froze $790 million of grants and contracts to Northwestern University in Illinois
Officials at Cornell have not yet publicly commented on the funding freeze, but in an opinion piece for the New York Times last week, President Michael Kotlikoff said his university was not afraid to let people argue, including over issues like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
‘A messy event that turns into viral videos causes understandable concern to trustees and alumni, and adds more fuel to already burning fires,’ he wrote.
‘But if we are to preserve our value and our meaning, we cannot let our caution overtake our purpose. Our colleges and universities are cradles of democracy and bulwarks against autocracy.’
The upstate New York school had faced criticism after history professor Russell Rickford said he was left ‘exhilarated’ and ‘energized’ by Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.
He took a leave of absence in the aftermath, but was later allowed to once again teach black history.
Northwestern University in Illinois was also the site of massive anti-Israel protests following the siege, with some Jewish students claiming that they were being harassed by the activists.
Cornell University faced criticism after history professor Russell Rickford said he was left ‘exhilarated’ and ‘energized’ by Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel
Jewish students at the school had claimed they faced antisemitism amid the protests
President Donald Trump had vowed to go after the protesters on the campaign trail, saying they were ‘antisemitic’ and showed sympathy to Hamas militants.
Shortly after he took office in January, Trump signed an executive order instructing the Education Department and other federal agencies to crack down on the demonstrations.
‘Since October 7, Jewish students have faced relentless violence, intimidation, and anti-Semitic harassment on their campuses – only to be ignored by those who are supposed to protect them,’ Education Secretary Linda McMahon said
‘Universities must comply with all federal anti-discrimination laws if they are going to receive federal funding.’
In addition to Cornell, Northwestern and Columbia, Trump has also reportedly halted $210 million in grants and contracts to Princeton and $510 million to Brown in response to antisemitism allegations.
Federal agents have detained some foreign student protestors – starting with Mahmoud Khalil at Columbia University
Pro-Palestine demonstrators hold a rally and march to the national ICE headquarters to protest the arrest of Palestinian activists in Washington, DC on Saturday
The administration is further probing allegations at Harvard University, and sent the Ivy League a list of demands it must fulfill in order to avoid losing $9 billion in federal grants and contracts.
That list included demands that the school ban face masks, enforce disciplinary policies, eliminate DEI practices, ‘reject race and gender-based preferences in hiring and review’ and review any programs ‘accused of fueling antisemitism,’ according to The College Fix.
Meanwhile, federal agents have also detained some foreign student protestors, revoking their visas and are now working to deport them.
They started by arresting Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil who was prominent at the controversial protests last year. He is now being held in a detention center in Louisiana.
Ever since, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said more than 300 student visas have been revoked, citing links to protests and ‘potential criminal activity’ as justifications.
In just the past two weeks, visa revocations have also hit students at Stanford, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, UC Davis and at other universities across the nation including Texas A&M, Cornell, the University of Oregon, the University of Colorado and Arizona State.
Over the weekend, three Harvard students and two recent graduates also had their student visas revoked, as did five international students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Four University of Michigan students also had their visas revoked by the Department of Homeland Security, and at least one has already left the country at the recommendation of school officials.
Ten Colorado university students or recent graduates, half of them Middle Eastern, also had visas revoked. Five students and one former student were at Colorado State University while four international students from the University of Colorado’s Boulder and Colorado Springs campuses have also been de-registered as students.