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Columbia pays Trump’s ransom
Why is Columbia paying the Trump administration $200 million?
Cameron Peters is a staff editor at Vox.
Welcome to The Logoff: Columbia University has struck a deal with the Trump administration to restore federal research funding in exchange for a $200 million settlement and other concessions.
What’s the context? Columbia has been attempting to come to terms with the Trump administration since it canceled $400 million in research funding for the university in March, accusing Columbia of permitting antisemitism on campus. Columbia subsequently caved to a number of demands, but only now succeeded in regaining its federal funding.
Why did Trump go after Columbia? The administration has targeted at least 60 universities for alleged antisemitism, but Columbia received particular focus. It was the site of high-profile pro-Palestinian protests in April 2024, which spurred similar demonstrations at universities across the country. And just one day after the administration froze Columbia’s funding, student activist Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and detained for 104 days.
What did Columbia agree to? The deal requires Columbia to pay $200 million to the Trump administration over three years to settle discrimination allegations, as well as $21 million over a separate investigation. It also includes provisions about diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at Columbia, international student admissions, and Title IX.
What are the implications of the deal? Columbia’s settlement might spell the end of the university’s months-long clash with the Trump administration — but it almost certainly won’t mark the end of President Donald Trump’s efforts to attack American higher education. The administration’s war with Harvard is ongoing, and a number of other research universities, including Princeton, Brown, Cornell, and Northwestern, have had research funding frozen.
What’s the big picture? Since returning to office, Trump has set out to break American institutions that don’t cater to his demands — corporations like Disney and Paramount, universities like Columbia and UPenn, and white-shoe law firms like Paul Weiss. Frequently, he has succeeded, despite offering only thin pretenses of wrongdoing. It’s a concerning pattern, one commonly found in authoritarian regimes.
And with that, it’s time to log off…
I’m thrilled to say my colleagues over at the Today, Explained podcast finally got to cover some good news: After a pandemic-era spike, murder rates in the US are falling dramatically. In Baltimore, gun crime has reached a five-decade low. Senior producer Miles Bryan went to Baltimore to find out how the city made it happen — you can listen to his excellent reporting here.
