Columbia pays $200M to settle with White House

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.

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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."