By CBS New York Team
Updated on: March 4, 2025 / 11:28 AM EST / CBS New York
President Trump is threatening to pull funding from schools that allow what he calls “illegal protests,” as his administration launches a review of Columbia University’s federal contracts.
“All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests,” Mr. Trump posted on social media Tuesday morning. “Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS!”
On Monday, the Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. General Services Administration announced they will conduct a comprehensive review of Columbia’s federal contracts, citing ongoing investigations into potential violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
The announcement said the federal government’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism will look into more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to make sure the school is complying with federal regulations. The task force is also considering stop work orders for $51.4 million in federal contracts.
Columbia responded with a statement on the university website that read:
We are reviewing tonight’s communication from the Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, and General Services Administration. 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. 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.
Last month, the Education Department announced it would conduct investigations at five universities where antisemitic incidents had been reported. Columbia was listed along with Northwestern University; Portland State University; the University of California, Berkeley; and the University of Michigan, Twin Cities.
Tensions have remained high at Columbia after pro-Palestinian demonstrators set up encampments last year on the university lawn. Some took over a building on campus, prompting the NYPD to make hundreds of arrests. The university canceled its main commencement ceremony, and the university president, who had been called to testify before Congress, stepped down.
Similar protests broke out last year at schools around the city and the country, and last week demonstrations were held at Barnard College and City College in Manhattan. Protesters at Barnard staged a sit-in and injured a security guard on their way into the building, demanding the school drop the expulsions of two students accused in a bias incident.
Mr. Trump previously signed an executive order calling for aggressive action against antisemitism on college campuses, vowing to prosecute offenders and revoke visas for international students found to be involved.
