The Trump administration pulled the most devastating lever against Columbia University on Wednesday when it announced it was targeting the school’s accreditation.

A typically mundane aspect of higher education but with the ability to destroy a university, the college accreditation process gives a school the ability to qualify for federal student loans and Pell Grants.

And the Education Department showed it would be using that avenue to its advantage.

What action did Education Department take?

The federal agency announced Columbia was in violation of Title VI federal antidiscrimination laws, zeroing in on the university’s alleged inaction on antisemitism.

The department said it would be informing the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the college accreditation group responsible for Columbia’s status, of the violation and argues it's the organization’s duty to take away Columbia’s accreditation status.

“After Hamas’ October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel, Columbia University’s leadership acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students on its campus. This is not only immoral, but also unlawful. Accreditors have an enormous public responsibility as gatekeepers of........

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