Judge dismisses Columbia University faculty lawsuit over Trump administration cuts

Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News on Jun 16, 2025

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NEW YORK — A federal judge in Manhattan on Monday dismissed a legal effort by professors at Columbia University to reverse hundreds of millions of dollars in Trump administration funding cuts.

Judge Mary Kary Vyskocil denied a motion for a preliminary injunction — and closed the case outright — for a lack of standing. The case was brought by a faculty group, the American Association of University Professors, whose members were impacted by the cuts but do not directly contract with the federal government.

“The funding that plaintiffs ask this court to commandeer was awarded to Columbia, which is conspicuously absent from this case,” Vyskocil wrote.

Orion Danjuma, a lawyer at Protect Democracy representing the AAUP, said the decision had “clear errors under settled Supreme Court precedent” and vowed to appeal. AAUP President Todd Wolfson added that “lifesaving research, basic civil liberties and higher education” were “all on the line.”

Unlike Harvard University, Columbia has not joined its faculty in suing over the funding cuts, which the Trump administration has said is based on the university not doing enough to protect Jewish students from harassment. In a footnote, the judge said Columbia only appeared to oppose the disclosure of a general counsel memo, saying the school had been “drawn in” to this litigation “solely through the actions of others.”

“In my view, it is essential to restore our research partnership with the government, if possible. I will always advocate for conversation, as long as it is productive,” said Acting President Claire Shipman in a statement last week.