White House pushes for oversight of Columbia University
The Trump administration is considering placing the school under a consent decree


What happened
The Trump administration is seeking to lock Columbia University into a legally binding consent decree, giving the White House oversight of the university for years to come, The Wall Street Journal said Thursday. The proposal is a significant escalation of President Donald Trump's expanding effort to exert power over top-tier U.S. universities by withholding federal research funds.
Who said what
After Trump withheld $400 million in grants and contracts to Columbia, accusing the school of insufficiently protecting Jewish students from harassment during 2024 Gaza War protests, the university "agreed to an initial set of demands," the Journal said. A consent decree would legally bind Columbia to those and future concessions, giving a judge the power to levy fines for noncompliance.
The Trump administration calls its cancellation of research funds and foreign student visas a "campaign against antisemitism on college campuses," The Associated Press said. Critics call it a "crackdown on free speech" and academic freedom.
Subscribe to 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.
What next?
A consent decree with Columbia "could serve as a model for other schools seeking to negotiate with the White House," The New York Times said. But the university would have to agree, and negotiations "could require an extended process." Judges "can't just wave a wand and turn an agreement into a consent decree absent a lawsuit," said University of Pennsylvania law professor Tobias Wolff.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.
-
Harvard loses $2.3B after rejecting Trump demands
speed read The university denied the Trump administration's request for oversight and internal policy changes
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
'New firms are created to serve the economy of which they are part'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deportee
Speed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deportee
Speed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
A running list of Trump's second-term national security controversies
In Depth Several scandals surrounding national security have rocked the Trump administration
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Trump says electronics tariff break won't last
Speed Read The tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices are temporary, the administration says
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Man charged in arson attack on Pennsylvania's Shapiro
Speed Read Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping when someone set fire to his Harrisburg mansion
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Abortion protests: is free speech in retreat?
Talking Point The conviction of 64-year-old Livia Tossici-Bolt for breaching abortion clinic 'buffer zone' has made her the unlikely focus of a transatlantic row over free speech
By The Week UK
-
America's woes are a foreign adversary's spy recruitment dream
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As federal workers reel from mass layoffs, the United States is becoming ground zero for international adversaries eager to snatch up disgruntled spies-to-be
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Supreme Court backs wrongly deported migrant
Speed Read The Trump administration must 'facilitate' the return of wrongfully deported migrant Kilmar Ábrego García from El Salvador, Supreme Court says
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
What's at stake in Kilmar Ábrego García's Supreme Court case?
Talking Points A test of Trump's immigration agenda
By Joel Mathis, The Week US