(Bloomberg) — The Trump administration won dismissal of a lawsuit by two unions seeking to stop the withholding of $400 million in federal funds from Columbia University, saying the groups didn’t have the legal right to challenge the decision.
The American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers filed the lawsuit in response to US Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s announcement that the administration was pulling grants and contracts from the school following a series of pro-Palestinian protests on campus.
On Monday, US District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil dismissed the case, which sought an order that would restore the funding, although she will allow the unions to refile the claims to address her concerns. Late in the day, the unions filed a notice that they will appeal.
The decision comes amid a broader fight between the administration and institutions of higher learning. The Department of Education said earlier this month that it was seeking to revoke the accreditation of Columbia, claiming it no longer appeared to meet standards after concluding that the school is in violation of anti-discrimination laws, the latest effort by the Trump administration to punish schools for their handling of pro-Palestinian protests.
The judge said that the groups lacked the legal right to bring the lawsuit, saying that while Columbia is the recipient of the grants, the school itself is not a participant in the case.
The groups are “inserting themselves into a quarrel” between the administration and Columbia, which “Columbia wishes to resolve cooperatively,” the judge said.
President Donald Trump and McMahon have previously suggested that negotiations with Columbia were headed in the right direction, especially compared to another Ivy-League institution, Harvard University, which has launched legal challenges against the administration’s decision to cancel its federal funding and revoke its license to admit international students.
“This is a disappointing ruling, but by no means the end of the fight,” AAUP President Todd Wolfson, said in a statement. “The Trump administration’s threats and coercion at Columbia University are part of an authoritarian agenda that extends far beyond Columbia.”
The case is American Association of University Professors v US Department of Justice, 25-cv-2429, US District Court, Southern District of New York.
(Updates with notice of appeal in third paragraph.)
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