Labor Unions File Lawsuit Against Trump Administration for Freezing $400 Million in Funding to Columbia University
The legal action was initiated after the Ivy League institution consented to measures aimed at safeguarding Jewish students in the future.
Groups representing teachers from K-12 and higher education have petitioned a federal judge to reinstate $400 million in grants that were revoked by the Trump administration from Columbia University due to an investigation into anti-Semitism on campus.
The funding was withdrawn earlier this month following an investigation into pro-Palestinian protests, vandalism of university property, and other incidents last year that involved harassment of Jewish students.
Along with the $400 million cut, the Trump administration also mandated that Columbia University fulfill nine specific conditions to qualify for future federal funding. These included a prohibition on student masks, stringent oversight of the Middle Eastern studies department, a revision of the disciplinary process for disruptive students, a push for increased “intellectual diversity,” the establishment of a clear definition of anti-Semitism, and the creation of new student recruitment and admissions protocols to screen for anti-Semitic attitudes in future classes.
This lawsuit follows acknowledgments from several cabinet members regarding Columbia’s advancements.
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The lawsuit also requests that the court block the Trump administration from enforcing any of the nine conditions that Columbia has already accepted.
“The defendants have impinged upon and unlawfully constrained the constitutional rights of Columbia, its faculty, and its students—including the members of the Plaintiffs—by imposing unconstitutional stipulations on the receipt of federal funding,” the court documents asserted.
The Epoch Times has contacted the Department of Education for comments regarding the lawsuit.
