The Trump administration’s settlements with Ivy League universities, negotiated in response to alleged violations of federal civil rights law, are meant primarily as an attention-grabbing measure — a way to get more people to pay attention to President Donald Trump’s aggressive approach to tackling discrimination in higher education, according to an architect of those settlements.

“When you see numbers like that, then you pay attention, and you look, and then you’re able to learn a little bit more, something maybe you wouldn’t normally learn,” May Mailman, a conservative attorney who until last month served as a senior White House strategist, told The New York Times’ Ross Douthat on an episode of his “Interesting Times” podcast that was released on Thursday. 

The Trump administration has so far secured a $221 million payment from Columbia and a $50 million commitment from Brown. A deal with Harvard has been under negotiation for months, but no agreement has yet been reached. 

These deals have included commitments from the universities on antisemitism policy, race-based hiring and admissions standards and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. What remains unclear is how they will be enforced. But Mailman told Douthat that the optics alone mark a significant achievement for the Trump administration.

“A settlement on its own without a fine might not be taken as seriously by the public or by other universities as when there is a fine,” said Mailman. “These are small dollar figures compared to the amounts that they are getting every year from the federal government and from their donors — but I think it provides a seriousness and a focus on these in ways that promises only wouldn’t.” 

The deals have not included a recognition of fault on the part of the universities. But, Mailman added, they convey to the public “a sense of acknowledgment of wrongdoing, not a legal sense but sort of a moral sense of, ‘We’ve taken all this money, and we did it in ways that were not merit based, or they weren’t safe for our students, and so we’re paying a small amount of it back.’”

Douthat engaged Mailman in a conversation about what he called the “very blurry zone of critiques of the policies of the state of Israel and critiques of Zionism,” and suggested that the Trump administration had been “micromanaging” academic departments by asking them to discipline “radical critics of Israel.” Mailman seemed to acknowledge that some of those efforts appear to some as an infringement on free speech.

“I acknowledge that there are some letters that were sent by the antisemitism task force, in some way, that either incorporated the IHRA definition or otherwise were perceived to have been speech codes,” Mailman said, referring to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, which some on the left and right have argued marks a threat to free speech.

Still, she added that the deal at Columbia did not create a “speech code.” (Columbia did announce its adoption of the IHRA definition this summer, but that was not formally articulated in its deal with the federal government.)

“The Columbia deal — and I think everyone would acknowledge that Columbia had a major antisemitism problem — but the Columbia deal in no way creates any speech code, whether it be on Israel or anything else,” said Mailman. “It does not — it specifically says that this is not intended to create any First Amendment conflict or otherwise govern speech on Columbia’s campus.”

George Washington University became the latest target of the Trump administration’s crackdown on campus antisemitism on Tuesday when the Department of Justice notified the D.C. private school that it is in violation of federal civil rights law. 

In a letter addressed to GW President Ellen Granberg, the DOJ described the university administration as “deliberately indifferent” to antisemitism on campus and claimed that it took “no meaningful action” to combat increased antisemitism since the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks. More than 25% of the undergraduate students on GW’s campus identify as Jewish. 

The letter called the anti-Israel encampment that overtook the center of GW’s campus for nearly two weeks in 2024 a “hostile environment” where “Jewish students [were] being harassed, abused, intimidated and assaulted by protesters.” The encampment, which began on April 25, was cleared on May 8 just hours before a planned Capitol Hill hearing on the D.C. government’s handling of the protest, after repeated public requests for assistance from GW’s administration. 

“Based on its investigation, the Department has concluded that GW took no meaningful action and instead was deliberately indifferent to the hostile educational environment on its campus in violation of Title VI,” the letter said.   

“We have received the letter and are currently reviewing its contents to respond in a timely manner,” Shannon McClendon, a GW spokesperson, told Jewish Insider. 

“GW condemns antisemitism, which has absolutely no place on our campuses or in a civil and humane society. Moreover, our actions clearly demonstrate our commitment to addressing antisemitic actions and promoting an inclusive campus environment by upholding a safe, respectful, and accountable environment. We have taken appropriate action under university policy and the law to hold individuals or organizations accountable, including during the encampment, and we do not tolerate behavior that threatens our community or undermines meaningful dialogue.”

Teddy Schneiderman, a rising junior at GW who is president of the campus chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi, told JI that if the university makes changes in light of the government crackdown, he would like to see it provide a campus police presence at Jewish events and institutions, such as Shabbat dinners. 

“This would offer visible reassurance and protection at a time when safety is a significant concern for the Jewish community, especially following the tragic murder of two Israeli Embassy staff earlier this year in Washington, D.C. Taking such action would send a clear message that GW is committed to safeguarding all students, including the Jewish community and allow us to continue to safely demonstrate our Jewish pride,” said Schneiderman. 

Rabbi Levi Shemtov, the executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad), which oversees Chabad’s national and local activities, including on GW’s campus, told JI that during the encampment, he would have agreed with the government’s allegation of GW’s indifference. “I’ll never forget what I saw with my own eyes for weeks,” Shemtov said. “But I do believe things have slightly improved, given President Granberg’s increased focus on the problem.” 

“If the university wants to resolve this without prosecution, they are being given a very generous chance by the DOJ to do so,” said Shemtov. 

“We expect that the steps taken to resolve this matter will result in a GW that is safe and welcoming for Jewish students and faculty, and where teaching and research can thrive,” Abbey Frank, interim executive director of GW Hillel, said in a statement. 

The DOJ wrote that it seeks “immediate remediation” with the university, giving campus administration until Aug. 22 to indicate whether it would like to engage in dialogue. Similar investigations earlier this year at schools including Harvard and Columbia resulted in the Trump administration pulling millions of dollars in federal funding. It restored Columbia’s funding in July, following months of negotiations and a $200 million settlement.