Trump Education Secretary Linda McMahon: Columbia University Must ‘Comply’ to Regain $400M in Canceled Funding

Columbia University must “abide and comply” with its public agreement to crack down on anti-Israel protests if the Ivy League school hopes to regain $400 million in canceled funding, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said on Tuesday.

When asked by a reporter, “What happens if it emerges that Columbia is not meeting the demands and complying with the agreements that they said they would?” McMahon replied, “My answer is pretty simple.”

“They have to abide and comply with the terms that we have set down and [we’ve] talked with them and they’ve agreed to,” McMahon told a small group of reporters over breakfast at Education Department headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Columbia University on Friday revealed several policy changes, such as allowing campus police officers to make arrests, rules regarding protesting, and discipline, among others. The policy changes arose after the Trump administration canceled $400 million in grants and contracts to the university, citing how the university “has abandoned” the obligation to “comply with all federal antidiscrimination laws” in order to receive federal funding, and has failed to act “in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”

In the spring of 2024, an anti-Israel encampment was established on the lawn of Columbia University. While several students were suspended and hundreds more protesters ended up being arrested over the involvement in the encampment, a second encampment was established and remained until the end of April, when the New York Police Department conducted a raid on the encampment.

Some of the anti-Israel protesters took over Hamilton Hall in a violent break-in, during which they trapped some university custodians, vandalized the building, and destroyed university property.

Other encampments were established at Yale University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), George Washington University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, among others, in support of the encampment at Columbia University.

McMahon confirmed to reporters that there is no definitive timeline on restoring the university’s funding as the administration assesses whether the school is upholding its end of the bargain.

“There’s not a time frame,” she said.

“I think they would like to see it restored as soon as possible. We are moving with them — our task force has already met with them. We are in full agreement to continue on a regular basis, you know, to have the meetings,” she said.

Columbia’s former president, Minouche Shafik, was forced to resign last year after failing to contain the anti-Israel and antisemitic protests that swept her campus after the horrific attack perpetrated by Hamas terrorists in Israel October 7, 2023. Several other university officials were also forced to resign.

Shafik was replaced by an interim president, Dr. Katrina Armstrong, who is Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

READ MORE: Pro-terror Activists at Columbia Celebrate October 7: ‘Resistance Is Glorious!’

McMahon discussed her recent meeting with Dr. Armstrong, which she called a “very frank conversation,” and said that the “preliminary conditions that Columbia has agreed to” were to “get to the table for stronger, more in depth conversations.” McMahon also said she believes Dr. Armstrong is “very sincere” in her desire to handle the inherited issue and is motivated to “make sure that the students at Columbia [are] safe.”

McMahon said she specifically spoke with Dr. Armstrong about potentially vetting applicants before they are admitted to screen for ties to terrorist organizations, as well as managing staff who encourage disruptive displays.

“I do believe also that there are faculty who come on board at Columbia who might also be more inclined to encourage that kind of activity on campus,” she said.

RELATED: Columbia Professor Who Celebrated October 7 to Teach Course on Zionism

McMahon emphasized that the administration’s actions are not about cracking down on free speech, but about restoring safety and guaranteeing an environment where Jewish students do not feel threatened for simply trying to attend classes and walk across campus. 

“[Dr. Armstrong] does believe in the freedom of exchange and debate of ideas, clearly as any college president would — as I do.  But students have to be safe there…and that, you know, really was put on steroids after October 7,” she said.

Columbia is not the only university under the Trump administration’s watchful eye. McMahon said the Department of Education (DoE) is in a task force with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to regularly meet and update on disruptive anti-Israel activities on college campuses.

Earlier this month, the DoE warned 60 universities who are under investigation for Title VI violations relating to antisemitic harassment and discrimination of potential enforcement actions if they do not protect Jewish students on campus, “including uninterrupted access to campus facilities and education opportunities.”

“We’re not looking at this as the sword of Damocles hanging over the universities. [It’s] more of just understanding that we’re going to have an eye on this to protect students,” McMahon said.

McMahon’s chief of staff, Rachel Oglesby, added that “almost every single one” of the 60 schools under investigation is in connection to complaints “issued during the Biden administration that the administration did not follow up on.”

“So what we’re also trying to deal with is going through a huge backlog of complaints since October 7,” Oglesby said.

Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.

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