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The Trump administration is looking to strip Columbia University of its accreditation over claims it violated the civil rights of its Jewish students.
US President Donald Trump has condemned Columbia and other US universities, arguing the schools have failed to protect Jewish students amid the war in Gaza and anti-war protests that roiled US campuses.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a letter that Columbia "acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students" in a manner that violated federal anti-discrimination laws.
US accreditors play a key role in determining which universities are allowed to access billions of dollars in federal funding.
"Accreditors have an enormous public responsibility as gatekeepers of federal student aid," McMahon wrote in a letter on Wednesday, calling Columbia's actions "immoral" and "unlawful".
The letter informs the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, which oversees Columbia, that Columbia "no longer appears to meet the Commissions accreditation standards" by its alleged violation of anti-discrimination laws.
It argues that the leadership of Columbia "failed to meaningfully protect Jewish students against severe and pervasive harassment on Columbia's campus and consequently denied these students' equal access to educational opportunities to which they are entitled under the law".
The Middle States organisation is one of several independent accreditors that the government uses to determine how to allocate education department funds.
Columbia University has yet to comment on the latest development.
The move comes as Trump continues his crackdown on institutions of higher learning. He also recently signed an order that changes the university accreditation process.
In February, the Trump administration stripped Columbia of $400m in federal funding due to his administration's allegations of antisemitism at the school. Columbia followed up by enacting campus rule changes demanded by the White House, including the re-organising of its Middle Eastern studies department.
The move was meant to appease the White House, but the deal appears to have had little impact.
The White House also accused other universities of antisemitism, most notably Harvard University, which is locked in multiple legal battles with the Trump administration over its government funding and the administration attempting to blocks its ability to accept international students.
The letter from McMahon suggests that other universities' accreditation may also be targeted.
"The Department has an obligation to promptly provide accreditors with any noncompliance findings related to member institutions," McMahon writes.
English (US) ·