Education Secretary Linda McMahon claimed that universities are now seeing the consequences of their “lack of attention” to antisemitism.
Harvard University has seen some $3 billion in government grants frozen or canceled since President Donald Trump took office. Columbia University lost some 300 grants that were worth $400 million. McMahon, who has been involved in the majority of these decisions to revoke the funding, defended her motivation while on CNBC’s Squawk Box Wednesday.
.@EDSecMcMahon: “What really, I think, triggered a focus for the larger elite universities, especially in the northeast, was the lack of attention that was being paid in the enforcement relative to anti-Semitism — And one of the things that President Trump did campaign on was he… pic.twitter.com/mxgpfbzoWE
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 28, 2025
“What really, I think, triggered a focus for the larger elite universities, especially in the Northeast, was the lack of attention that was being paid in the enforcement relative to antisemitism,” McMahon said. “And one of the things that President Trump did campaign on was he said he was going to put a stop to it.”
McMahon’s department, along with the Health and Human Services Department and General Services Administration, created a task force in March to determine whether the universities violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by allowing the protests from last year to escalate to antisemitism. The multiagency task force’s first act under President Donald Trump’s executive order on measures to combat antisemitism was to investigate Columbia, but more universities could face inquiries.
“Institutions that receive federal funds have a responsibility to protect all students from discrimination,” McMahon said in a statement at the time.
HARVARD LOSES ANOTHER $60 MILLION IN GRANTS OVER ANTISEMITISM
As education secretary, McMahon has committed to dissolve the department after Trump signed an executive order to weaken the Education Department. While its employees are laid off and the funds are transferred to states, the president made it clear that the department will still handle “Pell Grants, Title I funding, [and] resources for children with disabilities and special needs.”
In the meantime, McMahon has continued pursuing a “zero tolerance” policy for antisemitism.
