Trump Hails $221M Columbia University Settlement, Vows More
Newsmax
Jul 24, 2025
President Donald Trump, while hailing the landmark $221 million settlement the government reached Wednesday with Columbia University, vowed more action against other colleges and universities.
"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," the president posted on his Truth Social page late Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Columbia announced it had settled with the Trump administration, agreeing to pay a total of $221 million, including $200 million to the U.S. government and $21 million into a claims fund for Jewish employees.
The claims fund is for the employees who were discriminated against during the anti-Israel campus demonstrations after the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
The settlement comes after four months of negotiations with the Trump administration, when approximately $400 million in federal grants was pulled from the New York institution.
"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," Trump said in his social media post.
He also called it a "great honor" to have been involved in the settlement.
"I want to thank and congratulate [Education] Secretary Linda McMahon, and all those who worked with us on this important deal," said Trump. "I also want to thank and commend Columbia University for agreeing to do what is right. I look forward to watching them have a great future in our Country, maybe greater than ever before!"
In a statement from the office of acting Columbia President Claire Shipman, the university said that the agreement preserves Columbia's authority over faculty hiring, admissions, and academic decision making, and reinstates most of the federal grants that were terminated in March 2025.
The agreement also codifies reforms Columbia announced in March, including enhancements to campus safety, and changes in disciplinary processes.
The school said it does not admit to wrongdoing with the agreement, but that the measure builds on the school's commitment to combating antisemitism.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday that the State Department has opened an investigation into Harvard University and its authority to sponsor foreign exchange visas.
"Visa sponsorship is a privilege, and sponsors whose conduct tarnishes our nation's interests will lose that privilege," said Rubio.
In comments about the investigation, the government said that "sponsors participating in this program are required to fully comply with exchange visitor regulations, transparency in reporting, and a demonstrated commitment to fostering the principles of cultural exchange and mutual understanding upon which the program was founded."
"The American people have the right to expect their universities to uphold national security, comply with the law, and provide safe environments for all students," the statement added. "The investigation will ensure that State Department programs do not run contrary to our nation's interests."
Rubio said the investigation is to ensure that Harvard's visa program does not "compromise the national security interests of the United States."
Harvard University, which has been targeted for months by the Trump administration, recently argued in federal court that the government has illegally cut back $2.6 billion in federal funding.
Meanwhile, the Department of Education said on Wednesday that it is investigating five universities on claims that scholarship programs were only granted to recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
The investigation involves the University of Louisville, the University of Miami, the University of Michigan, the University of Nebraska Omaha, and Western Michigan University.
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