Columbia vs. Feds

 

Columbia vs. Feds

The Trump administration’s antisemitism task force aims to pursue a consent decree with Columbia University as a condition of restoring $400M in annual funding. A consent decree would give a federal judge the responsibility to oversee changes at Columbia and may last for years. The report follows a turbulent month at the school, where its interim president—who took over in August—resigned a week after conceding to administration demands.   The Joint Task Force on Combating Antisemitism—first created in early February by executive order—has launched over 60 investigations into major universities for alleged antisemitism and civil rights violations. This week, the administration froze $1B in grants to Cornell and $790M to Northwestern amid the probes. The State Department has also rescinded visas from nearly 400 students for their alleged involvement in campus protests.   The administration has also reduced federal Department of Education funding and laid off roughly half of its workers. See a tracker of administration actions on education here.