Amid Trump Admin’s Continued Pressure, Columbia U Prez Says She’ll Honor Commitments To Changes

After Columbia University interim president Katrina Armstrong’s remarks over the weekend called into question her commitment to falling into line with Trump administration standards the school had agreed to, she released a statement clarifying her commitment to implementing the changes, at the behest of the Trump administration.

Over the weekend, Armstrong met with roughly 75 faculty leaders. The university president reportedly said that Columbia is being investigated by six federal agencies, which could lead to all federal funding being pulled from the Ivy League school, per The Wall Street Journal. Despite the fact that Columbia had written a letter to the Trump administration agreeing to ban masks during unauthorized protests, Armstrong told faculty no mask ban existed.

But now, Armstrong released a statement on Tuesday saying:

“I regret any confusion and inconsistent statements and want to make sure our position is clear as we go forward. … Let there be no confusion: I commit to seeing these changes implemented, with the full support of Columbia’s senior leadership team and the Board of Trustees. … We need to continue to work to restore the public’s faith of the fundamental value of higher education for the nation and the longstanding partnership between ground-breaking universities like Columbia and the federal government.”

The deal Columbia University made with the government does not guarantee the return of the $400 million in grants to the university the Trump administration canceled earlier this month “due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”

“Since October 7, Jewish students have faced relentless violence, intimidation, and anti-Semitic harassment on their campuses — only to be ignored by those who are supposed to protect them,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon stated as the funds were canceled. “Universities must comply with all federal antidiscrimination laws if they are going to receive federal funding. For too long, Columbia has abandoned that obligation to Jewish students studying on its campus. Today, we demonstrate to Columbia and other universities that we will not tolerate their appalling inaction any longer.”

“Freezing the funds is one of the tools we are using to respond to this spike in anti-Semitism. This is only the beginning,” Leo Terrell, Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights and head of the DOJ Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, added. “Canceling these taxpayer funds is our strongest signal yet that the Federal Government is not going to be party to an educational institution like Columbia that does not protect Jewish students and staff.”

Related: Columbia U Prez Gets Flak From Faculty For Not Fighting Harder Against Trump