US university professors and teachers are suing Donald Trump’s administration over its efforts to overhaul governance at Columbia University with threats to withdraw federal funding from the Ivy League institution.
The American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers launched a lawsuit against officials and the departments of justice, education, health and human services, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the General Services Administration after $400mn in funding to Columbia was cut earlier this month.
The legal challenge follows Columbia’s decision last week to cede to many of the government’s demands to overhaul faculty governance and student discipline, which triggered protests and widespread concern over threats to academic freedom and freedom of speech across US educational institutions.