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 to Reuters 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.
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 an October 2023 attack by Hamas.
The US president has called the protesters antisemitic, and has labeled them as sympathetic to Hamas 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.
