US freezes funding for Cornell, Northwestern University in latest crackdown

Washington: The Trump administration has frozen over $1 billion in funding for Cornell University and $790 million for Northwestern University while it investigates both schools over civil rights violations, a US official said on Tuesday.

The funding being paused includes mostly grants and contracts with the federal departments of health, education, agriculture and defense, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to block federal funding for schools over pro-Palestinian campus protests as well as other issues such as diversity, equity and inclusion programs and transgender policies.

Last month, it sent a letter to 60 universities, including Cornell and Northwestern, that it could bring enforcement actions if a review determined the schools had failed to stop what it called antisemitism.

Cornell University said that while it had not received formal notification of the worth or total amount of funding freeze from the government, it did receive stop work orders from the defense department related to research on defense, health, and cybersecurity. It added that it was seeking more information from the government.

Northwestern said it was aware of media reports about the funding freeze but had not received any official notification from the government and that it has cooperated in the investigation.

"Federal funds that Northwestern receives drive innovative and life-saving research, like the recent development by Northwestern researchers of the world's smallest pacemaker, and research fueling the fight against Alzheimer's disease. This type of research is now in jeopardy," a Northwestern spokesperson said.

Trump has attempted to crack down on pro-Palestinian campus protests against US ally Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza, which has caused a humanitarian crisis in the enclave and followed a deadly October 2023 attack by Islamist group Hamas.

The US president has called the protesters antisemitic, and has labeled them as sympathetic to Hamas militants and as foreign policy threats.

Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the Trump administration wrongly conflates their criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza and advocacy for Palestinian rights with antisemitism and support for Hamas.

Trump crackdown on schools

Human rights advocates have raised free speech and academic freedom concerns over the crackdown by the Trump administration.

Last week, the US government announced a review of $9 billion in federal grants and contracts to Harvard University and has since listed conditions it must meet to receive federal money. Princeton University also said last week the government froze dozens of research grants.

Last month, the Trump administration canceled $400 million in funding for Columbia University, the epicenter of last year's pro-Palestinian campus protests.

Columbia agreed to some significant changes that Trump's administration demanded for talks about restoring the funding.

Federal agents have also detained some foreign student protesters in recent weeks from different campuses and are working to deport them. And the government has revoked visas of many foreign students.

Rights advocates have also raised concerns about Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias during the Israel-Gaza war. The Trump administration has not announced steps in response.

In March, the Trump administration suspended $175 million in funding to the University of Pennsylvania over its transgender sports policies.