Trump administration agrees to restore $790M to Northwestern University
The freeze was imposed after Republicans in Congress accused the school of doing too little to address anti-Semitism, including during campus protests against the Israeli genocidal war in Gaza.
The Trump administration has reached agreement to restore nearly $800 million in federal funds it withheld from Northwestern University and to close government investigations of the school, the university and the US Justice Department said on Friday.
Under the deal, the Chicago-area private research university will pay the US Treasury $75 million over three years to settle complaints the administration raised over the school's admissions standards, transgender policies and handling of anti-Semitism on campus, the two sides said.
As stated in the settlement, the payment is not an admission of wrongdoing "but simply a condition of the agreement,"
Northwestern President Henry Bienen said in a message to the university community.
Bienen's predecessor, Michael Schill, resigned in September amid ongoing tensions with the Trump administration, after a three-year tenure.
Northwestern also agreed to establish a committee of its Board of Trustees to ensure adherence to the agreement, with the university required to certify compliance on a quarterly basis.
But Bienen said the school had retained full academic freedom and autonomy as a self-governing institution, including control over faculty hiring, admissions decisions, curriculum and "the content of academic speech and research."
Federal funds restored
In return, the federal government "shall close pending investigations and treat Northwestern as eligible for future grants, contracts and awards," the Justice Department said in a separate statement.
As for the $790 million in federal research dollars frozen by President Donald Trump's administration in April, Bienen said he expected those funds "to resume flowing within days" and be fully restored within a month.
The freeze was imposed after Republicans in Congress accused the school of doing too little to address anti-Semitism, including during campus protests against the Gaza war.
The administration also opened inquiries into whether the university was unlawfully using race-based racial preferences in its admissions policies.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi hailed the agreement as "another victory in the Trump administration's fight to ensure that American educational institutions protect Jewish students and put merit first."
Bienen said the university was already abiding by federal law and US Supreme Court rulings as reflected in the agreed-upon terms of the settlement, including merit-based admissions and anti-discrimination rules.
The university said it would comply with the latest Title IX education rules requiring "safe and fair opportunities" for women, including single-sex housing for any woman who requests such accommodations, as well as all-female sports, locker rooms and showering facilities.