The Trump administration froze funding for Princeton University over concerns of how it has handled antisemitism on campus, the school announced Tuesday.
In a campus-wide email, the university stated “several dozen” grants from the Department of Energy (DOE), NASA and the Department of Defense (DOD) have been temporarily suspended. An administrative official told the Daily Caller on Monday the grant freezes amount to approximately $210 million.
“The full rationale for this action is not yet clear, but I want to be clear about the principles that will guide our response,” the email from the university reads. “Princeton University will comply with the law. We are committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we will cooperate with the government in combating antisemitism. Princeton will also vigorously defend academic freedom and the due process rights of this University.”
SCOOP: The Trump admin is pausing about $210 million in funding to Princeton University, an administration official tells the @DailyCaller.
The funds are being paused while the admin investigates antisemitism on campus. The decision is not the culmination of the investigation,…
— Reagan Reese (@reaganreese_) April 1, 2025
“I can confirm the Energy Department has paused grant funding to Princeton University pending the completion of the Department of Education’s (ED) investigation into Princeton regarding anti-Semitic harassment,” a DOE spokesman told the DCNF.
NASA did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. The DOD referred the DCNF to the Department of Education, which referred the DCNF back to the DOE.
The Trump administration has been no stranger to pulling federal funds from schools failing to comply with federal law and directives, recently pulling around $175,000,000 from the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) for allowing men to compete in women’s sports. Columbia yielded to several of the ED’s demands relating to how the school handles antisemitism complaints on campus after the department revoked $400 million in funding.
In February, the administration assembled the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, made up of ED, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The task force stated its “first priority will be to root out anti-Semitic harassment in schools and on college campuses” and has since begun its review of schools’ compliance with civil rights enforcement.
In March, ED sent letters to 60 universities warning them of “potential enforcement actions” if they did not step up to protect Jewish students from harassment and discrimination. Princeton was among the schools on the administration’s radar.
Antisemitic events have broken out on college campuses across the nation since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023, resulting in multiple lawsuits being filed against schools for allegedly not doing enough to stop the occurrences. Several schools faced investigations for incidents in which anti-Israel protests took over campuses, clashed with police, excluded Jewish students from parts of campus and even resulted in the overtaking of campus buildings and a university employee reportedly being taken hostage.
Princeton did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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