Columbia University has agreed to pay $200 million to the Trump administration as it failed to protect Jewish students during Gaza war protests in 2024. The university will pay the settlement amount over three years for endangering Jewish students and allowing antisemitic protests on the campus. Notably, in March this year, the Trump administration had decided to freeze $400 million in federal grants. In return for the settlement, many of those funds will now be reinstated by the Trump administration.
Notably, the university has stated that the agreement over the settlement amount was not an admission of wrongdoing. However, it acknowledged that the decision to pay the settlement amount came after “sustained federal scrutiny”. The deal also includes major campus reforms including disciplining protestors, banning face coverings at demonstrations, and restructuring departments. An independent monitor will oversee implementation. Furthermore, around 80 students have been expelled or suspended by the university over last year’s protests.
The settlement has been confirmed by President Donald Trump on social media platform Truth Social. The amount is in addition to the $20 million University is going to pay his Jewish employees who were targeted and harassed.
He said in his post that Columbia has also agreed to end DEI policies and adopt merit-only admissions. Secretary Linda McMahon called it a “seismic shift”, hoping other institutions will follow suit. Harvard, in contrast, is suing the government over similar punitive measures.
