Washington: The Trump administration has halted dozens of research grants at Princeton University, the latest Ivy League school to see its federal money threatened in a pressure campaign targeting the nation’s top universities.
Princeton was notified this week that several dozen federal grants are being suspended by agencies including the Department of Energy, NASA and the Defense Department, according to a campus message sent Tuesday by Christopher Eisgruber, the university’s president.
Eisgruber said the rationale was not fully clear but that Princeton will comply with the law. The school is among dozens facing federal investigations into antisemitism following a wave of pro-Palestinian protests last year.
“We are committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we will cooperate with the government in combating antisemitism,” Eisgruber wrote. “Princeton will also vigorously defend academic freedom and the due process rights of this University.” As President Donald Trump presses his political agenda on universities across the country, he has paid special attention to Ivy League institutions.
Columbia University was the first one targeted, losing USD 400 million in federal money with threats to terminate more if it didn’t make the campus safer for Jewish students. The school agreed to several demands from the government last month, including an overhaul of student discipline rules and a review of the school’s Middle East studies department.
The government later suspended about USD 175 million in federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania over a transgender swimmer who previously competed for the school. On Monday, a federal antisemitism task force said it was reviewing almost USD 9 billion in federal grants and contracts at Harvard University amid an investigation into campus antisemitism.
The pressure has created a dilemma for US colleges, which rely on federal research funding as a major source of revenue.
Eisgruber came forward as a voice of opposition as the Trump administration ratcheted up pressure on Columbia, calling it the greatest threat to American universities in decades.
“The attack on Columbia is a radical threat to scholarly excellence and to America’s leadership in research,” Eisgruber wrote in a March 19 essay in The Atlantic magazine. “Universities and their leaders should speak up and litigate forcefully to protect their rights.” The Energy Department confirmed it had paused funding to Princeton pending a Department of Education investigation around antisemitic harassment.
The Education and Justice departments declined to comment.
Princeton was among 60 universities that received a warning letter from the Education Department in March over accusations of antisemitism. It said the schools could face enforcement action if they didn’t address anti-Jewish bias on campus. All but two Ivy League schools, Penn and Dartmouth, were on the list.
The Education Department launched an investigation at Princeton in April 2024 under the Biden administration. It was in response to a complaint filed by the editor-in-chief of Campus Reform, a conservative news organisation, the outlet reported. The complaint cited a pro-Palestinian protest that reportedly included chants of “Intifada” and others described as antisemitic.
The outlet’s editor has filed dozens of other antisemitism complaints with the Education Department.
The Trump administration has promised a more aggressive approach against campus antisemitism, accusing former President Joe Biden of letting schools off the hook. It has opened new investigations at colleges and detained and deported several foreign students with ties to pro-Palestinian protests.
Trump and other officials have accused the protesters of being “pro-Hamas.” Student activists say they oppose Israel’s military activity in Gaza.
It follows a campaign by Republican in Congress who demanded answers from university leaders after the wave of protests. A series of hearings on Capitol Hill contributed to the resignation of presidents at Harvard, Columbia and Penn.
Columbia’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, resigned last week after the school agreed to the government’s demands.
