Universities Panic as Trump Freezes Billions

_WHAT’S HAPPENING_

President Donald Trump is escalating his crackdown on elite universities, freezing billions in federal funding to schools he accuses of harboring antisemitism and advancing “woke” ideology. The move targets some of the wealthiest and most prestigious institutions in the country — Harvard, Cornell, Princeton, and others — as part of the administration’s efforts to force them to comply with federal civil rights laws, which officials claim the universities have violated.

The Trump administration argues that taxpayer dollars should not go to schools that fail to protect Jewish students or promote values contrary to American ideals.

_THE FACTS_

• The Trump administration has frozen or is reviewing more than $12 billion in federal funding to major universities.

• The administration argues that, after years of violent protests and on-campus radicalism, universities have failed to protect Jewish students.

• Harvard faces the largest potential cut, with up to $9 billion in grants and contracts at stake.

• Harvard professors sued the Trump administration, alleging it is unlawfully using Title VI — which prohibits universities that receive federal funds from discriminating based on race, color, and national origin — to pressure universities and restrict academic freedom.

• Targeted schools include Columbia, Cornell, Northwestern, Brown, Penn, Princeton, and dozens more across the country.

• Northwestern and Cornell received over 75 stop-work orders on federal research projects this month.

• The administration cites campus antisemitism, failure to control protests, and DEI policies as key reasons for the cuts.

• Brown University is set to lose $510 million over its handling of campus encampments and diversity initiatives.

• Columbia University agreed to new protest restrictions and oversight changes after losing $400 million in funding.

• The Trump administration says funding could be restored if schools fully protect Jewish students and comply with civil rights laws.

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