In a significant legal blow to Columbia University faculty, a federal judge has upheld the Trump administration’s controversial decision to freeze over $400 million in federal funding. Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil of the Southern District of New York dismissed a lawsuit filed by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), two powerful unions representing Columbia’s faculty.

The judge’s ruling centered on the unions’ lack of standing to challenge the funding freeze. According to Judge Vyskocil, only Columbia University itself possesses the legal right to contest the administration’s action. This leaves the university as the sole entity capable of pursuing legal recourse against the funding suspension.

In her opinion, Judge Vyskocil stated, “Our democracy cannot very well function if individual judges issue extraordinary relief to every plaintiff who clamors to object to executive action. Neither the executive branch nor the legislature ever awarded the grants and contracts at issue to plaintiffs or any of their members.”

This decision leaves the future of the $400 million in funding uncertain and raises significant questions about the role of faculty unions in advocating for their members’ interests in such high-stakes funding disputes. The implications of this ruling extend beyond Columbia University, potentially impacting future challenges to federal funding decisions within the higher education sector.