The Department of Education is targeting Columbia University’s accreditation, telling the accreditor that the distinguished university appears to be in violation of federal antidiscrimination laws.

On Wednesday, Education Secretary Linda McMahon sent a letter to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, arguing that Columbia was failing to comply with antidiscrimination laws regarding antisemitism. The move doesn’t strip Columbia of its accreditation, but is the first step in the process.

Recommended Stories

• State board rejects new pick for University of Florida president Santa Ono over 'woke' statements
• Supreme Court school choice decision anniversary met with lone protester
• DOJ says it had 'cooperating witness' inside Harvard law journal who now works at White House

“After Hamas’ October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel, Columbia University’s leadership acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students on its campus. This is not only immoral, but also unlawful,” McMahon wrote.

“Accreditors have an enormous public responsibility as gatekeepers of federal student aid. They determine which institutions are eligible for federal student loans and Pell Grants. Just as the Department of Education has an obligation to uphold federal antidiscrimination law, university accreditors have an obligation to ensure member institutions abide by their standards,” she continued.

“We look forward to the Commission keeping the Department fully informed of actions taken to ensure Columbia’s compliance with accreditation standards including compliance with federal civil rights laws,” McMahon concluded.

The move comes as part of Trump’s April 23 executive order titled “Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education.”

The DOE’s Office of Civil Rights claims that Columbia’s leaders acted with deliberate indifference toward the alleged harassment of Jewish students, failing to protect their well-being, thereby violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law forbids federal funding for entities that engage in discrimination.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CAN’T AVOID ‘FREE SPEECH’ TRIAL ON STUDENT PROTESTS: JUDGE

Columbia would all but cease to operate if its accreditation were removed. Students would be ineligible for federal financial aid, have difficulty transferring credits to other schools, face challenges in gaining admission to graduate schools, and encounter limited employment opportunities afterward.

The Trump administration’s battle with the country’s elite universities reflects a long-standing battle between conservatism and higher education, with tensions exacerbated in recent years by alleged antisemitic and anti-white conduct. College protests around the war in Gaza pushed tensions to a tipping point.