Trump’s Cuts to Columbia Were a ‘Gun to the Head,’ Faculty Lawsuit Says

Two groups representing Columbia University faculty members on Tuesday sued the Trump administration over $400 million in federal funding cuts and demands that the school make dramatic changes to student discipline and admissions policies.

The plaintiffs, the American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers, asked a Manhattan federal court to restore the funding and argued that the cuts were unconstitutional.

The two groups and Protect Democracy, a nonprofit organization representing them, said in a news release that the funding cuts and an accompanying letter demanding changes to Columbia policy violated the First Amendment. The Trump administration’s actions “have created instability and a deep chilling effect on college campuses across the country,” the statement said.

Todd Wolfson, the president of the A.A.U.P., a faculty rights group, said in the statement that the funding cuts were part of a larger effort to target campus free speech, which would have consequences beyond Columbia.

“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,” Mr. Wolfson said.

The funding cuts have imperiled vital scientific and public health research that contributes to the “prosperity of all Americans,” the groups said. The cuts have effectively terminated numerous projects, including research into early cancer detection, the effects of Covid-19 on pregnancy and links between diabetes and dementia.