Columbia University to pay $200 mn fine in fight with Trump

The prestigious Columbia University said on Wednesday it will pay a $200 million fine to the US government after President Donald Trump threatened to pull federal funding over what he claims was “its unwillingness to protect Jewish students” amid pro-Palestinian protests that swept the educational institution. 

In a sweeping deal that will restore the New York institution’s federal monies, Columbia has pledged to obey rules that bar it from taking race into consideration in admissions or hiring.

“Columbia University has reached an agreement with the United States government to resolve multiple federal agency investigations into alleged violations of federal anti-discrimination laws,” a statement said, adding the $200 million would be paid over three years.

The university will also pay $21 million to settle investigations brought by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, it said.

“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,” the statement said.

The promise of the federal funding spigot reopening offers relief to the university, which was under growing financial pressure, despite a comfortable endowment that offered some cushion.

The agreement undoubtedly represents a victory for Trump, who has repeatedly claimed elite universities brainwash students against his nationalist ideas with left-wing bias.

The centuries-old Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is also in a fight with the administration over Trump’s threats to rip away federal funding, and Wednesday’s carefully worded agreement – in which Columbia admitted no wrongdoing – could offer a framework for future deals.

“This agreement marks an important step forward after a period of sustained federal scrutiny and institutional uncertainty,” Columbia’s acting president Claire Shipman said.

“The settlement was carefully crafted to protect the values that define us and allow our essential research partnership with the federal government to get back on track.

“Importantly, it safeguards our independence, a critical condition for academic excellence and scholarly exploration, work that is vital to the public interest.”

The New York Post reported, under the settlement, Columbia will maintain a security force to prevent demonstrations in academic spaces, such as those that rocked the campus last year when pro-Palestinian protestors demonstrated frequently in response to Israel’s deadly war in Gaza, and the university’s ties with Tel Aviv.

The paper said there will also be stricter vetting for non-US students, with information gained during this process to be shared with the government, while disciplinary action taken against students on visas would be reported to authorities.

The university has repeatedly come under fire for its crackdown on the pro-Palestinian demonstrators, which included the suspension and expelling of students who took part in the protests.

Columbia was also slammed by Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi, two Palestinian students arrested and detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents this year as Trump targeted student activists who demonstrated against the war in Gaza, for their response to their ordeal.

The protests that roiled Columbia and other US schools culminated in members of Trump’s Republican party grilling higher education leaders before Congress about so-called antisemitism accusations.

Columbia’s former president Minouche Shafik resigned last August just weeks before the start of the new school year, citing scrutiny she faced over her handling of the demonstrations.