Trump admin suspends research grant to Princeton University

NEW YORK -- Princeton University said Tuesday the Trump administration froze funding for research grants to the school, making it the latest Ivy League institution whose federal support has been cut or reduced.

Princeton President Chris Eisgruber said the New Jersey-based school received notices that US agencies were ending "several dozen" research grants, The Wall Street Journal and NBC News reported.

"The full rationale for this action is not yet clear," he said in an email to students and staffers.

The pause came from multiple US government agencies, including the Energy Department, the Defense Department and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Eisgruber said that his university will comply with the law and that it is committed to fighting antisemitism and other forms of discrimination.

"Princeton will also vigorously defend academic freedom and the due process rights of this University," he added.

The White House has recently cut funding for several Ivy League schools, including Harvard and Columbia, to demand an investigation into allegations of antisemitism related to last year's campus protests against Israel's strikes in the Gaza Strip.

On Monday, the administration opened a review of nearly 9 billion US dollars of Harvard University's federal grants and contracts as part of its investigation, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Columbia University was also canceled last month 400 million dollars by the government in grants and contracts over antisemitism concerns.