US halts $1 bn in funding for Cornell, $790 mn for Northwestern
This is seen as a broader push to use government funding to get major academic institutions to comply with President Donald Trump 's political agenda
Citing anti-Semitism, among other reasons, the US administration has frozen more than $1 billion in federal funding for Cornell University and around $790 million for Northwestern University.
The White House has said the money will remain frozen while the authorities investigate alleged civil rights violations at both institutions.
This follows similar action earlier against Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania.
Trump administration’s reasons
This is seen as a broader push to use government funding to get major academic institutions to comply with President Donald Trump 's political agenda.
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The White House has confirmed the funding pauses but offered no further details on what it entails or what grants to the schools would be affected.
The Trump administration’s aggression has left universities across the country struggling to navigate cuts to grants for research institutions.
Gaza war protests
In March, the Education Department sent letters to more than 60 universities including Cornell and Northwestern warning of “potential enforcement actions if they do not fulfil their obligations” under federal law to “protect Jewish students on campus, including uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities”.
The Trump administration has threatened to cut off federal funding for universities allowing alleged antisemitism to go unchecked at campus protests against Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza.
The universities have denied the accusations.
Columbia University
The administration first made an example of Columbia University with threats to withhold $400 million in federal funds.
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As a precondition for restoring that money along with billions more in future grants, the Republican administration demanded unprecedented changes in university policy.
Columbia's decision to bow to those demands, in part to salvage ongoing research projects, has been criticised by some faculty and free speech groups.
(With agency inputs)