EXCLUSIVE: Columbia To Meet With Trump Administration To Finalize Deal
Plus, domestic violence survivors speak out against Mamdani following Free Beacon report
Happening soon: Columbia University leaders "are set to meet with a senior Trump administration official on Thursday to finalize the terms of a deal that would restore the vast majority of the school’s federal funding and resolve the civil rights complaints against the school," Free Beacon editor in chief Eliana Johnson reports exclusively.
The draft deal "will see Columbia pay a $200 million fine and commit to releasing admissions and hiring data that federal officials say will ensure the university is complying with the Supreme Court’s prohibition on affirmative action." It could change before President Donald Trump signs off on it. He is reportedly eager to trumpet the nine-figure fine. At the same time, "the current deal is a far cry from a set of more burdensome demands the administration itself made in early April," prompting pushback from Trump allies and Columbia critics.
As the negotiations come to a head, the school is also in the process of searching for a president to replace interim leader Claire Shipman, the former ABC News journalist. "It is being led by a committee currently composed of ten university trustees and five faculty members," reports Johnson. "Among the trustees on the committee, seven, including Hyatt Hotel heir Adam Pritzker, are donors to Democratic politicians. Three have supported Republican candidates."
'Lives will be lost': As we reported last week, socialist mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani once argued that New York City cops should not respond to domestic violence incidents, comparing them to "jaywalking." Domestic violence survivors in the city aren't happy about it.
Michelle Esquenazi, a bail bondswoman and founder of the Victims’ Rights Reform Council advocacy group, said the police saved her life and her children's lives when her then-husband attacked her and held her two-year-old child over a banister in 1993. Esquenazi, who was pregnant at the time of the attack, called Mamdani's remarks "so incredibly stupid," adding, "Shame on him. Shame on him. That's what I have to say to him. If he was in front of my face, that's what I would tell him."
Bronx resident Lattina Brown told a similar story, saying the NYPD "helped de-escalate the problem" and "helped save my life" when her boyfriend turned violent. She called Mamdani's remarks "very insulting" and "very scary, because without the NYPD, lives will be lost."
"Domestic violence calls are among the most dangerous that New York City police officers respond to," writes our Jon Levine. "An NYPD representative told the Free Beacon that the department responded to over 240,000 domestic violence calls in 2024 alone, with 113 officers injured in the process. The NYPD recovered 168 firearms responding to domestic violence-related incidents in that same year."
One in, one out: Kamala Harris superfan and Beyoncé aficionado Eugene Daniels is out as president of the White House Correspondents' Association. Stepping into the role is CBS News reporter Weijia Jiang. Could the swap mark a move to the middle for the association? Not quite, our Andrew Stiles notes.
"Jiang's ascension suggests the controversial media organization has not wavered in its commitment to promoting liberal hacks who view journalism as a form of political activism," writes Stiles. "Jiang rose to semi-prominence during the first Trump administration by instigating public clashes with the president. She became a minor celebrity during the COVID-19 pandemic," first for accusing an unnamed White House official of using the phrase "Kung-Flu" during a private conversation and then for crying racism after Trump told her to "ask China" a COVID-related question.
Within months, Jiang landed a book deal with Simon & Schuster, which tapped her to write a memoir "about her lived experience as a Chinese immigrant growing up in West Virginia, and the adversity she's faced following her marriage to a white man." By 2024, she was advancing Democratic talking points on Robert Hur (whom she falsely accused of asking Joe Biden about his late son; Biden brought up the topic) and Kamala Harris (Jiang praised her "vibe" and authenticity). In other words, she'll fit right in.
In other news:
Democrats lost to Donald Trump in 2024 not because of Joe Biden but rather because they failed to stay "loyal" to him and his "incredibly successful" administration, Hunter Biden said in a podcast interview with former DNC boss Jaime Harrison.
Zohran Mamdani recently met with top business executives, who confronted him over his support for "globalize the intifada." In response, Mamdani said he stands by "the idea" the anti-Semitic phrase represents, otherwise known as terrorism.
Good news, Republicans: Two-time gubernatorial loser and prominent election denier Stacey Abrams is "not ruling out" another run for office, she told NPR.
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