By Steve Holland and Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The administration of President Donald Trump plans to freeze $510 million in grants to Brown University over what it calls antisemitism on campus, a U.S. official told Reuters on Thursday, but the university said it had not yet been formally notified.
The administration’s action makes Brown the latest academic institution targeted by Trump over this issue. The U.S. Education Department sent a letter last month to 60 universities, including Brown, warning it could bring enforcement actions against them.
The U.S. official spoke on condition of anonymity.
Trump has threatened to slash federal funding for universities over allegations of antisemitism during pro-Palestinian campus protests against U.S. ally Israel’s devastating military assault on Gaza, which has caused a humanitarian crisis in the enclave and followed a deadly October 2023 attack by Islamist group Hamas.
Trump has called the protesters antisemitic, and has labeled them as sympathetic to Hamas militants and as foreign policy threats.
Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the Trump administration wrongly conflates their criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza and advocacy for Palestinian rights with antisemitism and support for Hamas.
In an email to campus leaders on Thursday shared by a Brown University spokesperson, its provost, Frank Doyle, said the university was aware of “troubling rumors emerging about federal action on Brown research grants” but added it had “no information to substantiate any of these rumors.”
“We are closely monitoring notifications related to grants, but have nothing more we can share as of now,” he added.
Princeton University said on Tuesday the U.S. government froze several dozen research grants to the school. The Trump administration is also reviewing $9 billion in federal contracts and grants awarded to Harvard University. Last month, it canceled $400 million in federal funding for Columbia University, which had been the epicenter of pro-Palestinian campus protests.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have detained some foreign student protesters in recent weeks and are working to deport them.
Human rights advocates and academic experts have condemned the moves as an assault on free speech and academic freedom.
Rights advocates have also raised concerns about Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias during the Israel-Gaza war. The Trump administration has not announced steps in response.
The administration has also targeted schools over other culture war issues like diversity, equity and inclusion programs and suspended $175 million in funding to the University of Pennsylvania over transgender sports policies.
(Reporting by Steve Holland and Kanishka Singh in Washington; additional reporting by Nate Raymond; Editing by Don Durfee and Stephen Coates)
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