Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Northwestern University is the latest school to have its federal funding frozen by the Trump administration as part of a nationwide crackdown on how colleges are handling antisemitism.
The White House says it has frozen around $790 million in federal grants for Northwestern, but hasn’t shared which specific programs are affected. The move is part of an ongoing investigation into how schools have responded to pro-Palestinian protests and claims of antisemitism on campus.
Northwestern has faced scrutiny over student demonstrations last year. Some Jewish students say the university failed to protect them.
Last week, Northwestern released a progress report on steps it has taken to support Jewish students.
The university says it hasn’t received official notice of the freeze, but warned the impact could be far-reaching. In a statement, Northwestern pointed to groundbreaking research projects that could be at risk, including the development of the world’s smallest pacemaker and efforts to fight Alzheimer’s disease.
“This type of research is now at jeopardy. The University has fully cooperated with investigations by both the Department of Education and Congress,” the statement read.
Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky criticized the decision on social media, writing, “This freeze won’t protect the Jewish students Trump claims to defend, it will instead undermine their academic endeavors.”
Northwestern joins Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, and now Cornell University, whose federal funding has also been frozen by the White House in recent months.
WLS-TV contributed to this report.
