By Kanishka Singh and Jasper Ward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Columbia University said on Wednesday it will pay over $200 million to the U.S. government in a settlement with President Donald Trump’s administration to resolve federal probes and to have most of its suspended federal funding restored.
Trump has targeted universities including Columbia since returning to the White House in January over the pro-Palestinian student protest movement that roiled college campuses last year.
In March, the Trump administration said it was penalizing the university over how it handled last year’s protests by canceling $400 million in federal funding. It contended that Columbia’s response to alleged antisemitism and harassment of Jewish and Israeli members of the university community was insufficient.
“Under today’s agreement, a vast majority of the federal grants which were terminated or paused in March 2025 – will be reinstated and Columbia’s access to billions of dollars in current and future grants will be restored,” Columbia said in a statement.
The university said it has also agreed to settle investigations brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for $21 million and that its deal with the Trump administration preserved Columbia’s “autonomy and authority over faculty hiring, admissions, and academic decision-making.”
After the government announced the funding cancellations, the school announced a series of commitments in response to the Trump administration’s concerns.
Last week, Columbia adopted a definition of antisemitism that equates it with opposition to Zionism. The school also said it would no longer engage with pro-Palestinian group Columbia University Apartheid Divest.
The Trump administration had no immediate comment on Wednesday. Trump had said in recent weeks that a deal with Columbia was close.
The government has labeled pro-Palestinian protesters as antisemitic and as sympathizers of extremism. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the Trump administration has wrongly conflated their criticism of Israel’s military assault in Gaza with antisemitism and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism.
Wednesday’s announcement came one day after the university disciplined dozens of students over a pro-Palestinian protest in May in which demonstrators seized Columbia’s main library.
The government has attempted to use the leverage of federal funding with other educational institutions as well, including Harvard University, over campus protests. It has also tried deporting some foreign pro-Palestinian students but has faced judicial roadblocks.
Rights advocates have raised concerns about due process, academic freedom and free speech over the government’s actions.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Jasper Ward; Editing by Scott Malone and Diane Craft)
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