Columbia University has f***ed around, and now they will find out. If academia needs an object lesson, then the Trump administration is happy to provide one.

The White House announced Friday afternoon that Columbia University would be losing a big chunk of federal grant money – and began with a rather familiar greeting – one that we just saw recently.

SHALOM COLUMBIA: The Trump Admin, led by @USEDgov and the Task Force to Combat Antisemitism (@TheJusticeDept, @HHSGov, & @USGSA), has canceled ~$400M in federal grants to @Columbia over its failure to protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment. pic.twitter.com/CavoXbhhvx

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 7, 2025

The official announcement was posted by the Department of Education.

Today, the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Education (ED), and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced the immediate cancelation of approximately $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students. These cancelations represent the first round of action and additional cancelations are expected to follow. The Task Force is continuing to review and coordinate across federal agencies to identify additional cancelations that could be made swiftly. DOJ, HHS, ED, and GSA are taking this action as members of the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism. Columbia University currently holds more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments.

On March 3, the Task Force notified the Acting President of Columbia University that it would conduct a comprehensive review of the university’s federal contracts and grants in light of ongoing investigations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Chaos and anti-Semitic harassment have continued on and near campus in the days since. Columbia has not responded to the Task Force.

“Since October 7, Jewish students have faced relentless violence, intimidation, and anti-Semitic harassment on their campuses – only to be ignored by those who are supposed to protect them,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “Universities must comply with all federal antidiscrimination laws if they are going to receive federal funding. For too long, Columbia has abandoned that obligation to Jewish students studying on its campus. Today, we demonstrate to Columbia and other universities that we will not tolerate their appalling inaction any longer.”

In a statement to The Free Press, Columbia said: “We are reviewing the announcement from the federal agencies and pledge to work with the federal government to restore Columbia’s federal funding. We take Columbia’s legal obligations seriously and understand how serious this announcement is and are committed to combatting antisemitism and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our students, faculty, and staff.”

They need to say that, because $400 million is not exactly small change, even if their supporters claim that this funding cut won’t directly affect the departments most at fault for the rampant anti-Semitism.

Critics have warned that cutting off federal dollars is a blunt tool with which to punish colleges, given that most of that money goes to scientific research. As the economist Alex Tabarrok noted last month, “The problem is that the disciplines leading the woke charge—English, history, and sociology—don’t receive much government funding.”

Over $1.3 billion of Columbia’s $6.6 billion in annual operating revenue comes from federal research grants, according to a 2024 report. The National Institutes of Health accounts for 62 percent of these grants, totaling about $747 million in the financial year ending June 30, 2023, according to the school—although not all of those funds were allocated to research. Columbia’s Irving Medical Center is a significant recipient of federal funding.

Well, I guess this is when everyone gets a reminder that money is fungible. Because the feds give Columbia money for the medical center and for research, they can spend the dollars they DIDN’T have to spend on the medical center and for research on the overpriced English, history, and sociology departments, which seem to be a breeding ground for rampant anti-Semitism. See how this works? If Columbia is forced to spend its own dollars on the things that bring it value as an institution – like medical research – then a whole lot of English grad students who were writing dissertations on “theories of the imagination and poetry as interpreted through a Marxian lens in order to update and propose an alternative to historicist ideological critiques of the Romantic imagination” are going to find themselves a bit short on jobs. So you can spare me the hand-wringing over the federal funding being cut. Everyone knows why the funding is being yanked back. Even the interim president of Columbia, Katrina Armstrong, knows why this is happening.

Today, we were notified of federal action from Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Education (ED), and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) cancelling $400 million in federal funding to the University. The federal agencies cite “the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”

There is no question that the cancellation of these funds will immediately impact research and other critical functions of the University, impacting students, faculty, staff, research, and patient care.

But let me be very clear: Columbia is taking the government’s action very seriously. I want to assure the entire Columbia community that we are committed to working with the federal government to address their legitimate concerns. To that end, Columbia can, and will, continue to take serious action toward combatting antisemitism on our campus.

This is our number one priority.

Today’s announcement will undoubtedly create anxiety and concern for our entire community. These impacts will touch nearly every corner of the University. But it is during periods like this that our collective dedication to this institution and our mission takes on critical importance.

Armstrong then points out that she, when she took on the job, immediately acted to “clarify our Rules of University Conduct and strengthen our disciplinary process.” Well, we’re going to get to see just how that new and improved “disciplinary process” is going to work. Remember the protests at Columbia sister campus Barnard College this week? Arrests were made. And they weren’t all Barnard students.

Nearly half the radical activists arrested Wednesday after storming a Barnard College library are Columbia University students, a Washington Free Beacon review found.

Of the nine individuals arrested after storming Millstein Library, four are Columbia students: Gabrielle Wimer, Hannah Puelle, Yunseo Chung, and Symmes Cannon. One, Tramy Dong, is a Barnard student. Another, Christopher Holmes, attends Union Theological Seminary, a Columbia affiliate, while the remaining three appear unassociated with either school. They were charged with disorderly conduct, trespassing, and obstructing governmental administration, according to an NYPD spokesman.

Apparently, the students involved have begun deleting their LinkedIn profiles, but as Free Beacon reporter Jessica Costescu documented, of the four Columbia students, Gabrielle Wimer is a medical student, Hannah Puelle is studying sociology and philosophy, Yunseo Chung is majoring in “English and Women’s and Gender Studies,” and Symmes Cannon was involved in journalism at Columbia. Their arrest and identification will now become a test for interim President Armstrong. These four students have been reportedly suspended pending additional disciplinary action. Will that include expulsion for their arrests and misconduct at Barnard (which is NOT their school), or will Armstrong try to find a way to let them off the hook? Remember, she JUST SAID that Columbia is “committed to working with the federal government to address their legitimate concerns.” Will Armstrong be willing to expel students to get federal funding reinstated? It’s an open question.

Meanwhile, the political fallout from the Trump administration’s announcement is predictable. Those who have taken a strong stand against anti-Semitism are applauding the decision, including Senator John Fetterman.

Columbia let antisemitism run amok to cater to lunatic fringe and paid provocateurs.

Leadership allowed those assholes to take over the campus and terrorize Jewish students.

Now, Columbia pays for its failure and I support that. pic.twitter.com/k1kNYfnsMu

— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) March 7, 2025

On the flip side of that is Representative Jerry Nadler, who, obviously, has a wholly different perspective.

Trump’s $400 million cut to @Columbia sends a chilling message that universities must align with the MAGA agenda or face financial ruin. My statement with @RepEspaillat: pic.twitter.com/9ehtqUVAT3

— Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) March 7, 2025

Last I checked, Title VI protections pre-date the MAGA movement by many, many years. If Nadler doesn’t want Columbia to lose the money, then MAYBE he should be putting the screws to them and telling them to pull their act together. But that would mean standing up to the radical Hamas LARPers who are determined to dictate the Democrat platform on foreign policy, and so far, John Fetterman is the only Democrat who has a spine on telling these protesters to stuff it and stand up for Jewish students’ rights.

Every other university under investigation by the Department of Justice’s federal task force regarding anti-Semitism on their campuses should be sitting up and taking note right now. The American public is in a cost-cutting mood, and academia’s tolerance of open racism against Jewish students, and tacit acceptance of terrorist supporters, has not gone unnoticed. It’s time for colleges and universities to realize that there are strings attached to federal dollars, and if they don’t follow federal law, that money will start disappearing. How many times do we have to say “there’s a new sheriff in town” before it finally sinks in at colleges and universities? Funny, they’re supposed to be the smart people.

Featured image: original Victory Girls art by Darleen Click