The Trump administration is considering suspending millions in federal contracts and grants to Columbia University over its lackluster response to campus antisemitism.
In a joint press release, the heads of the Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, and General Services Administration said they have undertaken a “comprehensive review” into Columbia’s federal contracts in conjunction with the multi-agency Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism.
“Given Columbia’s ongoing inaction in the face of relentless harassment of Jewish students, the Federal Government’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is considering Stop Work Orders for $51.4 million in contracts between Columbia University and the Federal Government,” said the late Monday press release.
“The task force will also conduct a comprehensive review of the more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to Columbia University to ensure the university is in compliance with federal regulations, including its civil rights responsibilities,” the release said.
Columbia officials said they are reviewing the federal communication.
“Columbia is fully committed to combatting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we are resolute that calling for, promoting, or glorifying violence or terror has no place at our University,” the statement said.
“We look forward to ongoing work with the new federal administration to fight antisemitism, and we will continue to make all efforts to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our students, faculty, and staff,” the school stated.
The review into Columbia’s federal contracts was described as the task force’s first major action since its formation last month under the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division in response to President Trump’s executive order on combating antisemitism.
Last week, the task force announced it would visit 10 campuses over concerns about antisemitic activity, including Columbia, which has long been criticized for its handling of anti-Israel protests after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israeli civilians.
“Institutions that receive federal funds have a responsibility to protect all students from discrimination,” said Education Secretary Linda McMahon in a Monday statement. “Columbia’s apparent failure to uphold their end of this basic agreement raises very serious questions about the institution’s fitness to continue doing business with the United States government.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called antisemitism “a spiritual and moral malady that sickens societies and kills people with lethalities comparable to history’s most deadly plagues.”
“In recent years, the censorship and false narratives of woke cancel culture have transformed our great universities into greenhouses for this deadly and virulent pestilence,” Mr. Kennedy said. “Making America healthy means building communities of trust and mutual respect, based on speech freedom and open debate.”
Columbia has been denounced for failing to crack down on student protesters, but Barnard College, the women’s college affiliated with Columbia, has now expelled a third student activist, according to Columbia University Against Divestment.
Two of the students were expelled for crashing in January the first day of the History of Modern Israel course at Columbia, while the third was ejected over the Hamilton Hall takeover and occupation in May, according to a CUAD post Monday on Instagram.
The pro-Palestinian group, which is not a recognized student organization, accused Barnard of taking action after nine months of stalling just a day after the antisemitism task force was announced.
“These expulsions are entirely disparate, unprecedented, and unjustified,” said the post by CUAD, which is not a recognized campus organization. “We will not let this stand. Barnard, you expel one of us, and a hundred more will rise up.”
Barnard President Lauren Rosenbury declined last month to comment on the first two expulsions, citing student privacy, but said that the college “will always take action to protect our community.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.