Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Sunday discussed the possible restoration of $400 million in federal funding to Columbia University, saying that the Trump administration and the school “are on the right track now to make sure the final negotiations to unfreeze that money will be in place.”
The Justice Department’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism announced earlier this month that the federal government had ended $400 million in grants to the university during an antisemitism probe into the school.
McMahon said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that she and Columbia University interim President Katrina Armstrong had talked, later adding that the school leader “knew that this was her responsibility to make sure that children on her campus were safe.”
“We’ve talked and I believe that they are on the right track so that we can now move forward,” McMahon told CNN’s Dana Bash.
“Does that mean that the money will be unfrozen?” Bash asked.
“That means that we are on the right track now to make sure the final negotiations to unfreeze that money will be in place,” McMahon responded.
In a joint statement, the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education and the U.S. General Services Administration previously said the Columbia cancellation occurred due to “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”
Columbia said last Friday that it had agreed to demands that the Trump administration had laid out to start discussions on having the money returned.
The Hill has reached out to Columbia for comment.
