The US president labels protesters antisemitic, sympathetic to Hamas, and a threat to foreign policy
\n washington
\nThe Trump administration has frozen over $1 billion in funding for Cornell University and $790 million for Northwestern University while it investigates both schools over civil rights violations, a US official said on Tuesday.
\nThe funding being paused includes mostly grants and contracts with the federal departments of health, education, agriculture and defense, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
\nThe administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to block federal funding for schools over pro-Palestinian campus protests as well as other issues such as diversity, equity and inclusion programs and transgender policies.
\nLast month, it sent a letter to 60 universities, including Cornell and Northwestern, that it could bring enforcement actions if a review determined the schools had failed to stop what it called antisemitism.
\nNorthwestern said it was aware of media reports about the funding freeze but had not received any official notification from the government and that it has cooperated in the investigation.
\n\u201cFederal funds that Northwestern receives drive innovative and life-saving research, like the recent development by Northwestern researchers of the world\u2019s smallest pacemaker, and research fueling the fight against Alzheimer\u2019s disease. This type of research is now in jeopardy,\u201d a Northwestern spokesperson said.
\nCornell did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In an opinion piece in the New York Times last week, Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff said his university was not afraid to let people argue, including over issues like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
\nTrump has attempted to crack down on pro-Palestinian campus protests against US ally Israel\u2019s devastating military assault on Gaza, which has caused a humanitarian crisis in the enclave and followed a deadly October 2023 attack by Islamist group Hamas.
\nThe US president has called the protesters antisemitic, and has labeled them as sympathetic to Hamas militants and as foreign policy threats.
\nProtesters, including some Jewish groups, say the Trump administration wrongly conflates their criticism of Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza and advocacy for Palestinian rights with antisemitism and support for Hamas.
\nTrump crackdown on schools
\nHuman rights advocates have raised free speech and academic freedom concerns over the crackdown by the Trump administration. Last week, the US government announced a review of $9 billion in federal grants and contracts to Harvard University and has since listed conditions it must meet to receive federal money. Princeton University also said last week the government froze dozens of research grants.
\nLast month, the Trump administration canceled $400 million in funding for Columbia University, the epicenter of last year\u2019s pro-Palestinian campus protests.
\nColumbia agreed to some significant changes that Trump\u2019s administration demanded for talks about restoring the funding.
\nFederal agents have also detained some foreign student protesters in recent weeks from different campuses and are working to deport them. And the government has revoked visas of many foreign students.
\nRights advocates have also raised concerns about Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias during the Israel-Gaza war. The Trump administration has not announced steps in response.
\nIn March, the Trump administration suspended $175 million in funding to the University of Pennsylvania over its transgender sports policies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The US president labels protesters antisemitic, sympathetic to Hamas, and a threat to foreign policy washington The Trump administration has frozen over $1 billion in funding for Cornell University and $790 million for Northwestern University while it investigates both schools over civil rights violations, a US official said on Tuesday. The funding being paused includes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":471588,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-471554","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n