Trump administration notches first big win in assault on higher education
The lawsuit concerned the Trump administration's cuts to $400m worth of federal funding to Columbia on the grounds it tolerated antisemitism during pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Columbia largely accepted the government's terms for restoring funding – in an agreement widely panned as a capitulation of its own academic freedom – several days before the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) sued the Trump administration over the cuts.
The judge in the case, Mary Kay Vyskocil of the southern district of New York, ruled that the faculty unions had no 'standing' to bring the suit and had not clearly indicated how the administration had broken the law.
'It is not the role of a district court judge to direct the policies of the Executive Branch first and ask questions later,' the judge, a Trump appointee, wrote in her 30-page ruling. 'Plaintiffs have not established their standing to litigate this case, let alone any violation of any law.' She seemed to accept the government's prerogative to withhold funding and its argument that Columbia had enabled antisemitism to fester on campus. She also noted that Columbia had remained 'conspicuously absent' from the case.
The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment. That funding has not yet been restored though the education secretary Linda McMahon recently said that Columbia had 'made great progress' and that the administration was considering a consent decree with the university.
The administration has also cut billions in funding to several other universities, warning dozens more that it is investigating them over alleged antisemitism on campuses. So far, Harvard, which has lost more than $3bn in federal funding, is the only university to sue the administration in two separate lawsuits, one over funding cuts and another against the administration's ban on Harvard's ability to enroll international students. On Monday, a federal judge in Massachusetts extended a temporary block on the administration's order concerning Harvard's foreign students.
The AAUP has filed three other lawsuits against the Trump administration – over its ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, the attempted deportation of pro-Palestinian students and funding cuts at Harvard. The group has vowed to fight on.
'This is a disappointing ruling, but by no means the end of the fight,' Todd Wolfson, the AAUP president said. 'The Trump administration's threats and coercion at Columbia University are part of an authoritarian agenda that extends far beyond Columbia. Ultimately, lifesaving research, basic civil liberties and higher education in communities across the country are all on the line. Faculty, students, and the American public will not stand for it. We will continue to fight back.'
Protect Democracy, the group representing the AAUP and AFT said they would appeal Monday's ruling and vowed to 'continue to fight to stop the administration from using public funding as a cudgel to consolidate power over higher education', they wrote in a statement.
'This is a deeply problematic decision that ignores what this is all about – a government attempt to punish a university over student protests that galvanized a national movement in opposition to Israel's genocide in Gaza,' said Radhika Sainath, senior managing attorney at Palestine Legal, a group advocating for pro-Palestinian voices on US campuses which had filed a brief in support of the AAUP's lawsuit.
'The court uncritically takes the government's line for granted, that speech activity critical of Israel is inherently anti-Jewish – though Jewish students and professors make up a large percentage of those speaking up for Palestinian human rights.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
House Bill 395 aims to protect employers from those who skip job interviews
Ohio House Bill 395 proposes the creation of an online registry for individuals who fail to attend job interviews without notice. The bill aims to protect employers and state unemployment services by promoting accountability and preventing the waste of taxpayer money. Ohio Representative Brian Lorenz, a co-sponsor, argues the bill is 'common sense' and necessary to bring accountability back to the system. Opponents, including Senate Democrat Bill DeMora, contend that existing Ohio laws already address unemployment requirements and the bill could unfairly penalize those in emergency situations. While the Department of Job and Family Services currently has a system for reporting interview no-shows, proponents of the bill seek a more streamlined process.
The Guardian
9 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Texas House pushes forward on redistricting as Democrats vow to fight
Texas Democrats in the state legislature denied Republicans a legislative quorum on Monday by leaving the state, preventing, at least for now, plans proposed by the White House to aggressively redistrict Texas's congressional lines in their favor. When the legislature gaveled in at 3pm local time on Monday, Republicans fell short of a quorum by eight votes after Democrats fled to Illinois, a legislative conference in Boston, New York and elsewhere. In an extraordinary escalation, the state's Republican governor, Greg Abbott, said he he had ordered the Texas department of public safety to 'locate, arrest and return to the House chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans'. 'There are consequences for dereliction of duty,' Abbott said in a statement on Monday, after the Republican-dominated House issued civil arrest warrants in an attempt to compel the return of the members who fled. 'This order will remain in effect until all missing Democrat House members are accounted for and brought to the Texas Capitol.' Enforcing Abbott's order will be difficult, however, because Democrats who left the state are beyond the jurisdiction of Texas authorities. Democrats hold 62 of the 150 seats in the legislature's lower chamber, so as long as at least 51 members remain out of Austin, the Texas legislature cannot move forward with any votes, including a plan sought by Donald Trump to redraw the state's congressional maps to give Republicans five more seats in Congress. The Texas speaker, Representative Dustin Burrows, adjourned the house until 1pm on Tuesday after issuing a call for absent lawmakers and threatening their arrest. He cited pending legislation on flood relief and human trafficking – and not the contentious redistricting proposal before the chamber – in his call for Democrats to return. 'Instead of confronting those challenges, some of our colleagues have fled the state in their duty,' Burrows said. 'They've left the state, abandoned their posts and turned their backs on the constituents they swore to represent. They've shirked their responsibilities under the direction and pressure of out-of-state politicians and activists who don't know the first thing about what's right for Texas.' Democrats pushed back forcefully, accusing Abbott of calling a special session at Trump's behest rather than prioritizing disaster relief in the aftermath of the catastrophic floods that killed 135 people in central Texas last month. 'I never thought as a Texan, as an elected member of the Texas House of Representatives, and now as an elected member from Texas to the United States House of Representatives, that I would see the governor of the proud state of Texas bend a knee to a felon from New York,' Texas congresswoman Julie Johnson taunted Abbott during a press conference in Illinois. 'Never thought I'd see the day, but here we are.' Johnson, whose district would be radically reshaped if Texas Republicans succeed, spoke alongside members of the Illinois congressional delegation as well as several of the state representatives who left Texas on Sunday. 'Texas House Democrats know how to fight,' said Texas state representative Jessica González. 'Our sleeves are rolled up, and we're ready to take this fight wherever it's going to take us, because our communities, our state and our nation is definitely worth fighting for.' Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, who fled his own impeachment hearings and refused a court order to release his travel records after speaking at the rally in Washington that preceded the January 6 insurrection, has described wayward Democratic legislators as 'cowards'. Speaker Burrows said the house would not sit quietly. 'While you obstruct the work of the people, the people of Texas are watching and so is the nation, and if you choose to continue down this road, you should know there will be consequences.' The Texas House Democratic Caucus said in response: 'Come and take it.' 'We are not fighting for the Democratic party,' state representative James Talarico said in a video message recorded at an airport. 'We are fighting for the democratic process, and the stakes could not be higher. We have to take a stand.' A few dozen protesters gathered in front of the governor's mansion in Austin on Monday to protest the Republicans' hasty rewriting of the state's congressional districts. Led by Democratic congressmen Greg Casar and Lloyd Doggett, protesters marched back and forth across the parking lot in front of the gates of the governor's mansion. Speaking into a bullhorn, Casar, a leading progressive, praised state Democrats for fleeing the state to deny Republicans the quorum they need to pass a new congressional map that would sharply dilute Democratic voting strength in an effort to preserve a Republican majority in next year's congressional midterms. President Lyndon B Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act in 1965 to 'prevent maps like this', Casar said. 'We're going to fight like hell to stop it,' he said. 'We're not going back to pre-1965.' 'I see him basically as an errand boy for President Trump,' Doggett said of the Texas governor, Greg Abbott. 'He didn't ask for this map, he's just following orders.' 'Governor Abbott could have easily passed flood relief on day one of this special session,' Casar added. 'Instead he's holding flood relief hostage … It's all about himself and Donald Trump.' Every Republican member of the Texas congressional delegation that Casar has discussed the map with has told him privately that they oppose the redistricting effort, he said. Republicans have worried since Trump first floated the redistricting plan that any attempt to redraw the state's congressional districts could backfire, since creating new right-leaning districts is hard to do without making existing red districts less conservative. Most of the Democratic caucus absconded to Chicago, a city with a Democratic mayor and city council in a state with a Democratic governor and legislature. Illinois governor JB Pritzker, who owns the Chicago Hyatt hotel, announced on Monday he would provide free rooms to the Texas Democrats for as long as they are out of state. A special session of the Texas legislature lasts for 30 days, but Abbott can renew the call for a special session at will. Under new rules the Texas house adopted in 2021, each lawmaker will be fined $500 a day for each day they abscond from the state. Democratic-led states have vowed to respond in kind if Texas moves ahead with its plans. Earlier on Monday, New York governor Kathy Hochul said that she was exploring 'every option' to redraw state congressional lines. 'I'm tired [of] fighting this fight with my hand tied behind my back,' Hochul said at a news conference with six Texas Democrats who fled to her state. 'We are at war,' she added. 'And that's why the gloves are off – and I say bring it on.'
The Guardian
9 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Trump news at a glance: political battle in Texas escalates and president under fire for firing labor statistics chief
Texas governor Greg Abbott on Monday ordered the department of public safety to arrest and return any House member who had left the state and 'abandoned their duty to Texans', as Democrats thwarted plans to redistrict the state along lines that would favour Republicans. 'There are consequences for dereliction of duty,' Abbott said in a statement on Monday, after the Republican-dominated House issued civil arrest warrants in an attempt to compel the return of the members who fled the state in order to deny the legislature a quorom. 'This order will remain in effect until all missing Democrat House members are accounted for and brought to the Texas Capitol.' Democrats hold 62 of the 150 seats in the legislature's lower chamber, so as long as at least 51 members remain out of Austin, the Texas legislature cannot move forward with any votes, including a plan to redraw the state's congressional maps to give Republicans five more seats in Congress. Here are the key US politics stories of the day: Texas Democrats in the state legislature denied its speaker a legislative quorum Monday by leaving the state, forestalling plans proposed by the White House to redistrict Texas's congressional lines to more greatly favor Republicans. Texas governor Greg Abbott has threatened arrest, fines, felony charges of bribery and expulsion against the lawmakers. Read the full story The former Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) commissioners and non-partisan economic groups have criticized Donald Trump's shock firing of BLS commissioner Erika McEntarfer after the July jobs report data revealed jobs growth stalled this summer. Read the full story About 600 former Israeli security officials, including previous heads of the Mossad and the military, have urged Donald Trump to pressure Israel to end the war in Gaza as the country's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, considers expanding the conflict. In an open letter, the former officials said an end to the war was the only way to save hostages still held by Hamas. Read the full story Mike Johnson became the highest ranked US official to visit the occupied West Bank on Monday, the Republican House speaker drawing measures of praise and condemnation for his trip in support of Israeli settlements amid a worsening starvation crisis in Gaza. Read the full story Donald Trump's special envoy is expected in Moscow days before the US president's deadline on Friday for Russia to make progress on ending the war in Ukraine or face increased US sanctions. Trump said Steve Witkoff would visit Moscow on Wednesday or Thursday. When asked what message Witkoff would take to Russia and what Vladimir Putin could do to avoid new sanctions, the US president answered: 'Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.' Read the full story The US state department has prepared plans to impose bonds as high as $15,000 for some tourism and business visas, according to a draft of a temporary final rule. The bonds would be issued to visitors from countries with significant overstay rates, under a 12-month pilot program. Read the full story The Trump administration is seeking to block veterans from receiving abortions at hospitals run by the Department of Veterans Affairs in cases of rape or incest, or when a veteran's pregnancy has imperiled their health, according to new paperwork filed by the administration. Read the full story The Swiss stock market has plunged, the cabinet has held crisis talks and the country's president has been accused of mishandling a vital phone call with the White House after Donald Trump hit the country with a shock 39% export tariff. News Corp, part of the Murdoch family media empire, has announced it will bring a version of the brash rightwing New York tabloid to California in early 2026. Marjorie Taylor Greene said that she feels the Republican party has lost touch with its base – but she said she has no plans to leave the party. More than a dozen Democratic members of Congress signed on to a letter that urges the Trump administration to recognise Palestinian statehood, in a draft copy shared with the Guardian. Catching up? Here's what happened on 3 August 2025.
