India, June 5 -- The Education Department said Columbia University no longer appeared to meet accreditation standards, signalling that the school's federal student loans and Pell Grants might be at risk. Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement on Thursday that the university is in violation of anti-discrimination laws over its handling of pro-Palestinian protests.

McMahon said that Columbia's leadership 'acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students on its campus' after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.

"Accreditors have an enormous public responsibility as gatekeepers of federal student aid. They determine which institutions are eligible for federal student loans and Pell Grants. Just as the Depar...