The Trump administration has frozen over $1 billion in funding for Cornell University and $790 million for Northwestern University while it investigates both schools over civil rights violations, a US official said.
The funding being paused includes mostly grants and contracts with the federal departments of health, education, agriculture and defence, the official said on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to block federal funding for schools over pro-Palestine campus protests as well as other issues such as diversity, equity and inclusion programmes.
Last month, it sent a letter to 60 universities, including Cornell and Northwestern, that it could bring enforcement actions if a review determined the schools had failed to stop what it called antisemitism.
Northwestern said it was aware of media reports about the funding freeze but had not received any official notification from the government and that it has cooperated in the investigation.
"Federal funds that Northwestern receives drive innovative and life-saving research, like the recent development by Northwestern researchers of the world's smallest pacemaker, and research fueling the fight against Alzheimer's disease. This type of research is now in jeopardy," a Northwestern spokesperson said.
Cornell did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In an opinion piece in the New York Times last week, Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff said his university was not afraid to let people argue, including over issues like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Trump has attempted to crack down on pro-Palestine campus protests against US ally Israel's genocide in Gaza.
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.
Since Donald Trump's inauguration, the US has intensified its immigration crackdown. While some faced penalties for voicing opinions on the Gaza war, others were detained or deported for various reasons.
Trump crackdown on universities
Trump targeted US universities for allowing pro-Palestine protests on their campus.
He started with Columbia, which ignited a wave of pro-Palestine protests across US campuses, cancelling $400 million in federal funding to the university.
The university ultimately yielded to his pressure, announcing sweeping policy changes, including campus protest policies.
He then targeted Harvard, launching a review of alleged anti-Semitism and threatened to withdraw $9 billion in federal funding from the university.
The move came after the university dismissed the leaders of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies in an attempt to distance itself from pro-Palestine voices and allegations of bias.
Princeton University also said last week the government froze dozens of research grants.
Human rights advocates have raised free speech and academic freedom concerns over the crackdown by the Trump administration.
Rights advocates have also raised concerns about Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias during the Israeli carnage. The Trump administration has not announced steps in response.
