Columbia University is coughing up more than \$200 million to the U.S. government—\$221 million, to be exact—in a sprawling deal meant to end a series of federal investigations and restore the bulk of its frozen federal funding. The costly resolution comes as a direct consequence of the Trump administration’s ongoing war with elite universities over their handling of last year’s pro-Palestinian campus protests.
Once hailed as a sanctuary of academic independence, Columbia now finds itself agreeing to terms critics say border on ideological capitulation. The university announced the deal Wednesday, stating that the “vast majority” of federal grants—frozen in March to the tune of \$400 million—will now be reinstated, unlocking access to billions more in future funding.
The original funding freeze was part of a sweeping federal response to what the Trump administration described as Columbia’s failure to properly address antisemitic harassment and intimidation during widespread campus protests linked to the Israel-Gaza conflict.
But that was only part of the deal.
Alongside the settlement with the Department of Education, Columbia also agreed to pay \$21 million to resolve separate probes by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In exchange, the university claims to have maintained control over its faculty hiring, admissions, and academic programs—though critics argue that claim rings hollow given the concessions made.
Among the conditions: the university must revamp its Faculty Senate, abolish race-based preferences in hiring and admissions, dismantle its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, and commit to greater “viewpoint diversity” in Middle Eastern studies. Columbia has also pledged to discipline students involved in major protests and undertake a sweeping review of its international admissions process.
The agreement even mandates the appointment of two administrators—one to oversee compliance with the federal deal, and another to monitor and make recommendations on campus antisemitism.
In a controversial move last week, Columbia adopted a definition of antisemitism that equates it with anti-Zionism. Shortly thereafter, the university cut ties with Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a student group that had pushed for the school to sever financial ties with weapons manufacturers and firms connected to Israeli operations in the occupied Palestinian territories.
That same group fired back on Wednesday, calling the settlement “a bribe” and accusing Columbia of trading student rights for cash. “Imagine selling your students out just so you can pay Trump \$221 million dollars and keep funding genocide,” the group posted, invoking the outrage many students feel over the administration’s shift in posture.
Meanwhile, Education Secretary Linda McMahon framed the settlement as a victory for campus order and national interest. She praised Columbia for agreeing to “discipline student offenders,” revise its faculty governance, and ensure ideological diversity in programs viewed as critical to U.S. foreign policy narratives.
Behind the fine print is a much larger struggle: one over the soul of the American university. As Trump’s administration targets institutions like Harvard and Columbia for what it characterizes as “radical anti-Israel sentiment,” others see a chilling campaign that threatens free speech, academic freedom, and the right to dissent.
Trump’s use of federal funds as a weapon against academic institutions has sparked fierce debate, especially as his administration also pushes deportations of foreign students who participate in pro-Palestinian protests. Courts have thus far blocked many of those efforts, but the political message is unmistakable.
As Columbia tallies the cost of re-entering the federal government’s good graces, what remains unclear is what kind of campus culture that money will now buy—and what will be lost in its place.
