Columbia University agrees to pay USD 200 million fine to Donald Trump administration: Here's why

Columbia University has agreed to pay USD 200 million to President Donald Trump's administration over accusations it failed to protect its Jewish students from harassment. A settlement that was reached on Wednesday and which will be paid to the federal government over three years was announced in a statement by the university. In exchange, the government has agreed to return some of the USD 400 million in federal grants it froze or terminated in March. 

In exchange for the return of hundreds of millions in research grants, Columbia will also pledge to follow laws banning the consideration of race in admissions and hiring, and follow through on other commitments to reduce antisemitism and unrest on campus that it agreed to in March, the New York Times reported. 

Columbia University pledges to reduce antisemitism

Columbia will also pay USD 21 million to settle investigations brought by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. "This agreement marks an important step forward after a period of sustained federal scrutiny and institutional uncertainty," Claire Shipman, Columbia's acting president, said in the release. "The settlement was carefully crafted to protect the values that define us and allow our essential research partnership with the federal government to get back on track."

The Trump Administration's deal with Columbia University is a seismic shift in our nation's fight to hold institutions that accept American taxpayer dollars accountable for antisemitic discrimination and harassment, US Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon said in a post on X. Trump posted on Truth Social platform: "Columbia has also committed to ending their ridiculous DEI policies, admitting students based ONLY on MERIT, and protecting the Civil Liberties of their students on campus. "Numerous other Higher Education Institutions that have hurt so many, and been so unfair and unjust, and have wrongly spent federal money, much of it from our government, are upcoming," Trump posted.

As per a report in Al Jazeera, Columbia was among dozens of US universities that were roiled by protests against Israel's war in Gaza throughout the spring and summer of 2024. Many Jewish students and faculty complained that the campus demonstrations veered into anti-Semitism, while pro-Palestinian advocates have accused critics of often wrongly conflating opposition to Israel with the hatred of Jews.

(With inputs from ANI)