The Trump administration said Wednesday that Columbia University has fallen short of accreditation standards by violating federal law, raising the stakes in the onslaught against elite universities over their handling of campus antisemitism.

The Department of Education’s office for civil rights said it had notified the Middle States Commission on Higher Education that Columbia, one of its member institutions, “fails to meet the standards for accreditation set by the Commission.”

The department said the commission requires universities to demonstrate that they comply with federal law and regulations. It said a civil rights investigation had found that Columbia acted with “deliberate indifference” to the harassment of Jewish students after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israeli civilians.

As a result, “Columbia University no longer appears to meet the Commission’s accreditation standards,” the department said in a statement.

Losing accreditation would represent an enormous and potentially existential blow to any U.S. institution, even with Columbia’s $14.8 billion endowment.

Universities that lose their accreditation status are no longer eligible for federal education programs, including Pell Grants and federal student loans, which are the lifeblood of American colleges and universities.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon made it clear that her department would monitor the accreditation commission’s evaluation of its next steps.

“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,” Ms. McMahon said.

“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,” she said.

Columbia responded that it had already addressed antisemitism concerns with the accreditation commission.

“Columbia is aware of the concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights today to our accreditor, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, and we have addressed those concerns directly with Middle States,” the university said. “Columbia is deeply committed to combating antisemitism on our campus. We take this issue seriously and are continuing to work with the federal government to address it.”

The Trump administration has paused or canceled federal research grants to universities by leveraging federal civil rights laws such as Title VI, which bans discrimination in education based on race, color or national origin.

Harvard has fought the Trump administration by suing over the loss of research funding, but Columbia has cooperated. Last month, it reached an agreement that includes banning student protesters from wearing masks, hiring 36 security officers and naming a provost to oversee the Department of Middle East, South Asian and African Studies.

The Trump administration canceled $400 million in federal grants and contracts with Columbia in March.

In February, the department’s office for civil rights began a Title VI investigation into Columbia, which had become a hotbed for protests against Israel that included a mass encampment and occupation of an academic building.

“In order to survive, Columbia must take this seriously and save its accreditation,” the Columbia Jewish & Israeli Students account wrote on X.

• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.