**Trump Administration Threatens Columbia University With Federal Funding Cut Over Academic Policies**
The Trump administration has issued a stark ultimatum to Columbia University, warning that federal funding could be permanently revoked unless the school relinquishes control of an international studies department and implements sweeping policy changes.
In a letter sent Thursday night, federal officials demanded that Columbia place its Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies Department under “academic receivership” for at least five years. Additionally, the university must ban masks used to conceal identities or “intimidate others,” adopt a revised definition of antisemitism, overhaul its student disciplinary process, and submit a plan to reform undergraduate admissions, international recruitment, and graduate admissions practices.
The letter labeled these demands as “preconditions” for Columbia to continue receiving federal funding but did not specify why the targeted department was singled out or what the process of “receivership” would entail. “We expect your immediate compliance with these critical next steps,” officials from the Department of Education, General Services Administration, and Department of Health and Human Services wrote.
This move is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to exert influence over academic institutions. The Education Department recently launched investigations into more than 50 universities over alleged racial discrimination, while federal immigration officials have intensified efforts to detain students, including Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested in Louisiana following protests at Columbia against the war in Gaza.
Columbia’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, acknowledged that Department of Homeland Security agents searched two student residences with a warrant Thursday night but stated that no arrests were made. In response to the federal demands, faculty and free speech advocates have voiced strong opposition.
“Half of this stuff you can’t just do, and the other half is insane,” said Joseph Howley, a professor of classics at Columbia. “If the federal government can show up and demand a university department be shut down or restructured, then we don’t have universities in this country.”
Columbia has yet to issue an official response to the administration’s letter.