University pays Trump $220M to get its funding back

Columbia University has agreed to pay $220 million to the federal government as part of a controversial deal with the Trump administration.

JUST IN: Columbia University has agreed to pay more than $220 million in a deal with the Trump administration to restore federal funding to the school. cnn.it/41bvDfk

— CNN (@cnn.com) 2025-07-24T00:46:34.068Z

The move by the university is intended to bring closure to the Trump administration’s accusations of civil rights violations, particularly against Jewish students and staff, while allowing Columbia to recoup around $1.6 billion in federal funding that had been frozen.

However, the university acknowledges no wrongdoing in this agreement, reached under pressure from several federal agencies.

Many critics see it as a capitulation to the Trump administration, believing that these accusations are aimed above all at repressing pro-Palestine movements on campus, a priority stated by the administration as soon as it returns to power in January 2025.

While Columbia opted to strike a deal to quickly recover its funding, Harvard, the target of similar accusations, preferred to take the Trump administration to court, refusing to comply with the same demands despite the freezing of over $2 billion in federal funds.

Of the $220 million paid by Columbia, $200 million will go to the federal government as part of a civil settlement, and around $21 million will go to compensate Jewish students and employees who have filed discrimination claims.

Faced with the same accusations, Columbia chose agreement, Harvard confrontation, two opposing approaches that illustrate just how far universities are willing to go to defend their autonomy in the face of such political pressure.