Columbia pays $200M to settle with White House
The Trump administration accused the school of failing to protect its Jewish students amid pro-Palestinian protests
What happened
Columbia University agreed to pay $200 million to the federal government as part of a landmark settlement with the Trump administration.
Following last year's pro-Palestinian protests, the administration had accused the school of violating antidiscrimination laws by "failing to protect students from antisemitic harassment," The New York Times said.
The Ivy League school will also pay $21 million to settle investigations brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In return, the administration will restore most of the $400 million in research grants it canceled in March.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Who said what
Columbia "does not admit to wrongdoing" but recognizes that "reform was and is needed," the university said in a statement. President Donald Trump hailed the agreement as "historic" on Truth Social. The pro-Palestinian group Columbia University Apartheid Divest accused the school of "selling out" its students.
What next?
Columbia has 30 days to appoint an administrator "responsible for overseeing the deal's compliance," Reuters said. Trump indicated similar agreements with other universities "that have hurt so many" would be "upcoming."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jessica Hullinger is a writer and former deputy editor of The Week Digital. Originally from the American Midwest, she completed a degree in journalism at Indiana University Bloomington before relocating to New York City, where she pursued a career in media. After joining The Week as an intern in 2010, she served as the title’s audience development manager, senior editor and deputy editor, as well as a regular guest on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. Her writing has featured in other publications including Popular Science, Fast Company, Fortune, and Self magazine, and she loves covering science and climate-related issues.
-
Europe’s apples are peppered with toxic pesticidesUnder the Radar Campaign groups say existing EU regulations don’t account for risk of ‘cocktail effect’
-
Political cartoons for February 1Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Tom Homan's offer, the Fox News filter, and more
-
Will SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic make 2026 the year of mega tech listings?In Depth SpaceX float may come as soon as this year, and would be the largest IPO in history
-
Why is Tulsi Gabbard trying to relitigate the 2020 election now?Today's Big Question Trump has never conceded his loss that year
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Did Alex Pretti’s killing open a GOP rift on guns?Talking Points Second Amendment groups push back on the White House narrative
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
