Educators' unions challenge Trump's "unlawful assault" on Columbia's federal funding
New York, New York - Labor unions representing educators are suing the Trump administration for withdrawing $400 million in federal funding in retaliation against student Palestine solidarity protests.
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) launched the lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's federal funding cuts to Columbia, which the government said were "due to the school's continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students."
Trump had previously threatened to cut funding to colleges and universities that allow "illegal protests" on campus.
Filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, the complaint reads, "This action challenges the Trump administration’s unlawful and unprecedented effort to overpower a university’s academic autonomy and control the thought, association, scholarship, and expression of its faculty and students."
Columbia last year became the epicenter of the powerful student protest movement against US support for Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine and unrelenting assault on its people.
The retaliatory cuts by Trump impact critical public health research, including on cancer, Alzheimer’s disease prevention, and fetal health in pregnant people.
Trump administration accused of "unlawful assault on academic freedom"
The lawsuit argues the administration's punitive measures violate Title VI, the First Amendment, the separation of powers, and other constitutional provisions.
"The Trump administration’s threats and coercion at Columbia are part of a clear authoritarian playbook meant to crush academic freedom and critical research in American higher education," AAUP President Todd Wolfson said in a press release.
"Faculty, students, and the American public will not stand for it. The repercussions extend far beyond the walls of the academy. Our constitutional rights, and the opportunity for our children and grandchildren to live in a democracy are on the line."
Reinhold Martin, president of Columbia-AAUP and professor of architecture, echoed, "We’re seeing university leadership across the country failing to take any action to counter the Trump administration’s unlawful assault on academic freedom."
"As faculty, we don’t have the luxury of inaction. The integrity of civic discourse and the freedoms that form the basis of a democratic society are under attack. We have to stand up."
Cover photo: REUTERS