Trump admin halting more than $500M in federal funding to Brown University over antisemitism response
More than half a billion dollars in federal funding to Brown University is being halted by the Trump administration over the Ivy League’s response to antisemitism since Hamas’ 2023 attack in Israel.
A White House official confirmed that nearly $510 million awarded to the university through federal contracts and grants is on the line, though Brown University told Fox News Digital that it has “no information to substantiate what’s being reported.”
Brown Provost Frank Doyle said in an email to campus leaders on Thursday that the school is aware of “troubling rumors” about its research money, but described the rumors as nothing more than that.
“I am writing because we are aware there are troubling rumors emerging about federal action on Brown research grants. We have received questions about whether the University is facing the magnitude of government actions we have seen reported at other institutions concerning interruptions or revocation of research funding,” Doyle wrote.
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“We will not repeat these various rumors, including unsubstantiated reports by online outlets, but it is important to share that, at this moment, we have no information to substantiate any of these rumors. In your respective roles as chairs and faculty directors, please share this information with your concerned faculty. We are closely monitoring notifications related to grants, but have nothing more we can share as of now,” the provost concluded.
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President Donald Trump has suspended federal funding to every Ivy League, besides Penn and Dartmouth, over investigations into anti-Israel protests that have taken place on their campuses since October 2023. Funding for dozens of other universities has also been impacted by investigations for the same reason.
Columbia University, which had more than $400 million in federal funding taken away, was the first Ivy League to lose money over its failure to make Jewish students feel safe on campus. The university caved to demands from the Trump administration late last month in hopes of restoring the funding.
This week, a federal antisemitism task force announced a review of Harvard’s federal grants and contracts, worth nearly $9 billion, as the university faces an investigation into campus antisemitism, and Princeton University confirmed dozens of its research grants have been halted.
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The Trump administration has promised to be more aggressive in ending campus antisemitism after saying President Joe Biden did not hold universities accountable for their violent protests.
“Americans have watched in horror for more than a year now, as Jewish students have been assaulted and harassed on elite university campuses – repeatedly overrun by antisemitic students and agitators. Unlawful encampments and demonstrations have completely paralyzed day-to-day campus operations, depriving Jewish students of learning opportunities to which they are entitled,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement last month.
She said schools that receive federal funding “have a responsibility to protect all students from discrimination” and described the failure to do so as a reason to question if the university should be “doing business with the United States government.”
The administration has also made moves to detain and deport foreign students who participated in or orchestrated anti-Israel protests at American universities.
The Department of Homeland Security announced last month that an assistant professor at Brown, who held an H-1B visa, was deported to Lebanon for her support of and attendance at the funeral of a slain Hezbollah leader.
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Brown made headlines last year for a deal it struck with anti-Israel protesters, who were taking over the university, promising to have its governing board vote on whether it should divest from companies linked to Israel.
The Corporation of Brown ultimately rejected the divestment proposal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.