Northwestern Reaches $75 Million Federal Settlement as Trump Restores Research Funding
Northwestern University has struck a consequential deal with the federal government, securing the release of nearly $790 million in previously frozen research funds after months of mounting scrutiny under the Trump administration. The agreement, announced jointly by the Department of Justice, Department of Education, and Department of Health and Human Services, requires Northwestern to pay $75 million to the U.S. Treasury through 2028, Newsweek reported.
Federal officials characterized the settlement as the culmination of a wide-ranging investigation into Northwestern’s admissions practices, its handling of anti-Semitic incidents on campus, and its compliance with long-standing civil rights statutes governing race, sex, religion, and national origin. The terms amount to one of the most sweeping federal interventions in a major university in recent memory.
Under the agreement, Northwestern is compelled to dismantle all race-based admissions and hiring preferences, marking a profound reversal for a school that has long embraced diversity metrics as part of its institutional identity. The university must also adopt new anti-discrimination measures across its campuses, implement mandatory anti-Semitism training for students and staff, and submit quarterly compliance reports for ongoing federal review.
In return, the Trump administration will lift the financial freeze, terminate ongoing investigations, and allow Northwestern to resume applying for future federal grants and contracts. Interim president Henry S. Bienen acknowledged the toll the freeze has taken on the school’s research community.
“We understand how difficult the past seven months have been since our federal research funding was frozen, and that many of you have felt the impacts deeply and personally,” Bienen said.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon praised the arrangement as a model for how universities nationwide should respond to civil rights obligations.
“The Northwestern agreement is a huge win for current and future Northwestern students, alumni, faculty, and for the future of American higher education,” McMahon said.
The settlement lands amid a broader national debate over campus unrest, federal oversight, and the role of higher education in safeguarding civil liberties. Institutions facing similar investigations may now view Northwestern’s concessions as a warning shot demonstrating the administration’s willingness to enforce compliance aggressively.
For President Donald J. Trump, the outcome represents yet another policy victory. During Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, the president highlighted the agreement as one more example of his administration restoring accountability in institutions that had grown accustomed to ideological privilege.
The settlement also coincides with a rapidly escalating federal response to the Nov. 26 shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., allegedly carried out by an Afghan asylee. That incident has ignited a series of national security overhauls touching nearly every major immigration agency.
In the immediate aftermath, the State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services froze visa processing and immigration benefits for Afghan nationals both in the United States and abroad. The halt encompasses Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), including categories historically exempted from the administration’s June 4 travel ban.
The freeze took effect without delay, impacting posts worldwide. At the same time, federal agencies have launched a systematic review of past green cards issued to nationals from the 19 countries covered under the travel restrictions — a list that includes Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran, Libya, and Yemen. The Biden-era approvals will undergo fresh scrutiny to ensure conformity with the Trump administration’s heightened security requirements.
Officials have not specified how many cases will be reassessed or when the review will conclude, but the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that updated instructions for adjudicating “discretionary benefits” are forthcoming.
As part of the broader recalibration, asylum officers have been directed to pause all pending affirmative asylum decisions until new security protocols are fully established. While defensive cases in immigration court remain unaffected, the move effectively shuts down new asylum grants by USCIS.
President Trump reinforced the direction of his administration over Thanksgiving weekend, pledging to “permanently pause migration from third-world countries” and stressing the need for a merit-based immigration system centered around skills, economic value, and self-reliance rather than chain migration and random visa lotteries.
Senior officials confirmed that implementation details will be released in the coming months, with the initiative serving as an extension of the president’s earlier order tightening entry standards for high-risk countries.