Columbia University announced on Wednesday that it has reached a deal with the Trump administration following months of negotiation to restore federal funding to the school, in a move described by the administration as a “seismic shift” in its fight with elite higher education
Under the terms of the deal to resolve several federal probes into allegations that it had violated anti-discrimination laws, Columbia did not admit to wrongdoing but agreed to pay the government a $200 million settlement over three years and an additional $21 million to settle US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigations.
In exchange, the university said in its statement, “a vast majority of the federal grants which were terminated or paused in March 2025—will be reinstated and Columbia’s access to billions of dollars in current and future grants will be restored.”
