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Trump administration settlement to cost Columbia $200 million

Jul 24, 2025, 5:49am EDT
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Members of the Columbia faculty and staff protest against the university’s policies
Ryan Murphy/Reuters

Columbia University agreed to pay the Trump administration $200 million to settle a series of outstanding investigations.

In exchange for the fine and for other concessions — such as an additional $21 million penalty for alleged antisemitic discrimination, a review of classes related to the Middle East, restrictions on transgender women, and a promise to scrutinize foreign students’ reasons for coming to the US — Columbia will again receive millions in federal research funding.

The university earlier this week announced it was punishing more than 70 students who’d engaged in anti-Israel protests; Wednesday’s agreement codified many changes it had already offered the White House, but did not require it to admit wrongdoing.

Still, some faculty fear the administration isn’t through with them: “New civil rights violations will be imagined, new vistas of anti-Americanism on campus will be discovered, and the attacks will continue,” one professor wrote.

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