I wanted to post this letter from the President of Cornell about the agreement with the government. I acknowledge that it is frustrating to see anyone submitting to Trump. How to continue doing research in this environment is not a simple matter. I feel that Cornell is better off continuing its good work and hasn’t compromised its essential mission.
An agreement to restore Cornell’s federal research funding
November 7, 2025
Dear Cornell Community,
Since April of this year, Cornell has been subject to more than $250 million in federal funding interruptions, which have disrupted the research of faculty and students across all campuses. Today I write to share that Cornell has reached an agreement with the federal government to immediately restore and continue the university’s research funding. The full text of the agreement is available here (PDF), and I encourage everyone in our community to read it in its entirety.
The decades-long research partnership between Cornell and the federal government is critical to advancing the university’s core mission and to our continuing contributions to the nation’s health, welfare, and economic and military strength. This agreement revives that partnership, while affirming the university’s commitment to the principles of academic freedom, independence, and institutional autonomy that, from our founding, have been integral to our excellence.
The agreement explicitly recognizes Cornell’s right to independently establish our policies and procedures, choose whom to hire and admit, and determine what we teach, without intrusive government monitoring or approvals. In short, it recognizes our rights, as a private university, to define the conditions on our campuses that advance learning and produce new knowledge. It reaffirms, as well, our continuing commitment to follow the law, protect everyone in our community from discrimination, and make admissions and hiring decisions based on merit — principles to which we have already independently and publicly committed — while upholding our founding principle of “... any person ... any study.” I will personally certify our institutional compliance with the agreement on a regular basis, and Cornell will provide anonymized admissions data and continue to conduct campus climate surveys and carry out foreign gift and contract reporting in accordance with existing law.
Cornell has not been found in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in any of the investigations or compliance reviews of the university’s programs pending at the Department of Justice, Department of Education, or Department of Health and Human Services, and the government has agreed to close all of these investigations and reviews. The government has further agreed to restore terminated federal grants, release all withheld funds for active grants, and consider Cornell fully eligible for new grants and funding awards, without disadvantage or preference.
As the land-grant university for New York state and a global pioneer in agricultural research and innovation, Cornell is proud to lead efforts in supporting American farmers. Pursuant to the terms of this agreement, the university will invest $30 million over three years in research to strengthen U.S. agriculture and help build even more successful and productive farms. Cornell will also pay an additional $30 million over three years directly to the United States government as a condition for ending pending claims that have been brought against the university. The resolution is explicit that Cornell’s agreement to these terms is not an admission of wrongdoing.
The months of stop-work orders, grant terminations, and funding freezes have stalled cutting-edge research, upended lives and careers, and threatened the future of academic programs at Cornell. I am grateful for the dedication and resilience of the faculty, staff, and students who have found ways to continue moving critical work forward throughout these unprecedented events.
With this resolution, Cornell looks forward to resuming the long and fruitful partnership with the federal government that has yielded, for so many years, so much progress and well-being for our nation and our world.
Sincerely,
Michael I. Kotlikoff
President
Watch the video of President Kotlikoff's November 7 Town Hall.
Democratic senators and members of the House should know by now that they cannot trust Republicans, and especially Trump, to keep any promises. So any offer to reopen the government should work sequentially:
1. Congress passes, and Trump signs, a bill extending the ACA subsidies.
2. Simultaneously, Congress passes, and Trump signs, a separate bill fully funding SNAP.
3. Only then would Democratic senators vote in favor of the House-passed continuing resolution and reopen the government.
Under the current offer, both the continuing resolution the ACA subsidy extension would be voted on as separate bills but together. So the continuing resolution goes into effect and Trump vetoes the ACA subsidy extension. Great compromise, folks.
Thank you Robert! You are one of the people we look to for truth, inspiration, guidance. Not a job you necessarily wanted, but here you are. And Americans are finding their, our courage. 🇺🇸💙❤️
When hate and fear are the main motivators,it must be a miserable way to live and work. From the mostly young men driving by our protests and cursing us to the SCOTUS Justices intent on using the law to "curse" people they don't accept. Other fearful haters include the MAGAs in Congress and in our communities. I feel sorry for them and their warped values.
Whereas I agree with the notion of a radical reformation of this enabler SCOTUS, I believe that the effort will not be complete if the six traitors to the rule of law escape any and all consequences for their actions heretofore. At a minimum, they should be impeached, convicted, removed, disbarred, and criminally prosecuted and incarcerated as accessories to the crimes of the individual to whom they extended unlimited immunity.
To quote: Some Republicans, and even some Democrats, ended the day hoping that Schumer’s offer — and its quick rejection — could herald a thaw in the frozen talks. On-the-fence Democrats, the thinking goes, will now realize that bringing the long-running rank-and-file negotiations to fruition is the only path out of the morass.
“I think the Republicans made it very clear today that they were not going to support Senator Schumer’s offer,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) said Friday night. “We need to find another path forward.”
I've gotten the strong impression that Justice Jackson is guided in her decision-making in large part by her great humanity, and that she is very smart. I think President Biden did a damn good job in putting her on the Court, and I'm sorry goddam McConnell stole two Justices that Biden otherwise would have appointed.
I'm sorry my Aunt Rose, who was an avid Supreme Court watcher all of her adult life is not here now. I'd love to talk with her about Jackson, in particular.
I watched a recent recording last evening of James Carville and Al Hunt take questions from their audience on the Politicon Podcast. Not my normal activity but I like to check in with them from time to time.
Carville had a very upbeat message I wanted to share if you haven’t seen it. He said it’s most likely at this point a foregone conclusion that the Democrats will take back the White House and Congress in 2028. Whatever you feel about Carville I understand! But he also predicted just about every win we saw this week. He indicated that after the Democrats retake the Government the President will issue a Blue Ribbon Committee that will probably include people like Judge Luttig among others. Carville said it doesn’t matter who is on the Committee because it’s baked into the needs of the country.
He said that will be a formality that will precede the President agreeing to legislation that increases the SCOTUS to 13 Justices. He said the President will pick those justices rather fast and work to start undoing the unconstitutional damages that have occurred over the last 20 years. He was dead serious. May his words be accurate!
Perhaps this Extreme Court should only rule under the shadow docket! No negative, hurtful comments. Maybe the 6 of them can go live on Military Bases as some of trump's cabinet have.
I recently listened to Adam Shiff explain the role of the Federalist Society in the selection of Supreme Court justices. He explained that the Federalist Society is controlled by mega wealthy donors of the business class. It not only finds and grooms loyal conservative candidates but it continues to assure that judges’ loyalty with gifts. So it is not surprising that the Court is negative on the tariffs. They hurt business. In a clash of interests between business and Trump, they will drop Trump. When a case involves individual liberties that affect all other classes in our society, they have no problem giving the green light to the oppressors. Seen in this way, the depth of the court’s corruption is the most serious malignancy in our democracy. Robert is so right remind us often that it must be reformed at the earliest possible moment.
Thank you for your thoughts on Justice Jackson's actions. I am hoping you are correct - its the only explanation. Meanwhile, this whole thing is an abomination, and should not even be in the courts for discussion. Such a travesty - we can pay ICE and Argentina, but our own children and soldiers.
An informed column, as always, especially as respects Justice Jackson's maneuvering to maximize the chances of the full court declining to stay the district court's order in the SNAP benefits case, after the First Circuit, in an opinion, explains why it denied the stay. Thank you for that analysis. Having said that, the court's record on its shadow docket bids fair that the full court, albeit in summary order in a few paragraphs, will grant the stay, on The Wicked Man's application for relief after the First Circuit rules. The recent passport ruling, which you discuss at some length in your column, is an ominous sign, for it necessarily turned in part, as Justice Jackson's dissent point out, on the Court's evaluation of the competing irreparable injuries, when the administration's argument that it would be irreparably injured by failing to grant the stay sought there was impoverished. The administration's irreparable injury argument here (in the SNAP benefits case) is even more impoverished. Finally, a minor point, your focus on the cruelty of The Wicked Man and his administration (which here includes, functionally, the Supreme Court) might have benefited from your citation to Adam Serwer’s The Cruelty Is the Point: The Past, Present, and Future of Trump’s America (2021).
Not only did I find this post helpful, as always, but as someone who had just used “bury the lede” when texting with a friend yesterday, I found your historical usage explanation of “lede vs lead” fascinating and instructive! Thanks!
Before I may have never known what "bury the lede" was about and would have thought it a typo. I am not sure I need to know, 😆, but I learned something old today I think, but I'm old too. A laugh is always good!
I wanted to post this letter from the President of Cornell about the agreement with the government. I acknowledge that it is frustrating to see anyone submitting to Trump. How to continue doing research in this environment is not a simple matter. I feel that Cornell is better off continuing its good work and hasn’t compromised its essential mission.
An agreement to restore Cornell’s federal research funding
November 7, 2025
Dear Cornell Community,
Since April of this year, Cornell has been subject to more than $250 million in federal funding interruptions, which have disrupted the research of faculty and students across all campuses. Today I write to share that Cornell has reached an agreement with the federal government to immediately restore and continue the university’s research funding. The full text of the agreement is available here (PDF), and I encourage everyone in our community to read it in its entirety.
The decades-long research partnership between Cornell and the federal government is critical to advancing the university’s core mission and to our continuing contributions to the nation’s health, welfare, and economic and military strength. This agreement revives that partnership, while affirming the university’s commitment to the principles of academic freedom, independence, and institutional autonomy that, from our founding, have been integral to our excellence.
The agreement explicitly recognizes Cornell’s right to independently establish our policies and procedures, choose whom to hire and admit, and determine what we teach, without intrusive government monitoring or approvals. In short, it recognizes our rights, as a private university, to define the conditions on our campuses that advance learning and produce new knowledge. It reaffirms, as well, our continuing commitment to follow the law, protect everyone in our community from discrimination, and make admissions and hiring decisions based on merit — principles to which we have already independently and publicly committed — while upholding our founding principle of “... any person ... any study.” I will personally certify our institutional compliance with the agreement on a regular basis, and Cornell will provide anonymized admissions data and continue to conduct campus climate surveys and carry out foreign gift and contract reporting in accordance with existing law.
Cornell has not been found in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in any of the investigations or compliance reviews of the university’s programs pending at the Department of Justice, Department of Education, or Department of Health and Human Services, and the government has agreed to close all of these investigations and reviews. The government has further agreed to restore terminated federal grants, release all withheld funds for active grants, and consider Cornell fully eligible for new grants and funding awards, without disadvantage or preference.
As the land-grant university for New York state and a global pioneer in agricultural research and innovation, Cornell is proud to lead efforts in supporting American farmers. Pursuant to the terms of this agreement, the university will invest $30 million over three years in research to strengthen U.S. agriculture and help build even more successful and productive farms. Cornell will also pay an additional $30 million over three years directly to the United States government as a condition for ending pending claims that have been brought against the university. The resolution is explicit that Cornell’s agreement to these terms is not an admission of wrongdoing.
The months of stop-work orders, grant terminations, and funding freezes have stalled cutting-edge research, upended lives and careers, and threatened the future of academic programs at Cornell. I am grateful for the dedication and resilience of the faculty, staff, and students who have found ways to continue moving critical work forward throughout these unprecedented events.
With this resolution, Cornell looks forward to resuming the long and fruitful partnership with the federal government that has yielded, for so many years, so much progress and well-being for our nation and our world.
Sincerely,
Michael I. Kotlikoff
President
Watch the video of President Kotlikoff's November 7 Town Hall.
Democratic senators and members of the House should know by now that they cannot trust Republicans, and especially Trump, to keep any promises. So any offer to reopen the government should work sequentially:
1. Congress passes, and Trump signs, a bill extending the ACA subsidies.
2. Simultaneously, Congress passes, and Trump signs, a separate bill fully funding SNAP.
3. Only then would Democratic senators vote in favor of the House-passed continuing resolution and reopen the government.
Under the current offer, both the continuing resolution the ACA subsidy extension would be voted on as separate bills but together. So the continuing resolution goes into effect and Trump vetoes the ACA subsidy extension. Great compromise, folks.
Thank you Robert! You are one of the people we look to for truth, inspiration, guidance. Not a job you necessarily wanted, but here you are. And Americans are finding their, our courage. 🇺🇸💙❤️
When hate and fear are the main motivators,it must be a miserable way to live and work. From the mostly young men driving by our protests and cursing us to the SCOTUS Justices intent on using the law to "curse" people they don't accept. Other fearful haters include the MAGAs in Congress and in our communities. I feel sorry for them and their warped values.
Whereas I agree with the notion of a radical reformation of this enabler SCOTUS, I believe that the effort will not be complete if the six traitors to the rule of law escape any and all consequences for their actions heretofore. At a minimum, they should be impeached, convicted, removed, disbarred, and criminally prosecuted and incarcerated as accessories to the crimes of the individual to whom they extended unlimited immunity.
This article by Politico comes to a different conclusion about the effect of Thune rejecting Schumer's proposal. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/07/the-senate-hopes-for-a-weekend-shutdown-miracle-00643604
To quote: Some Republicans, and even some Democrats, ended the day hoping that Schumer’s offer — and its quick rejection — could herald a thaw in the frozen talks. On-the-fence Democrats, the thinking goes, will now realize that bringing the long-running rank-and-file negotiations to fruition is the only path out of the morass.
“I think the Republicans made it very clear today that they were not going to support Senator Schumer’s offer,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) said Friday night. “We need to find another path forward.”
I've gotten the strong impression that Justice Jackson is guided in her decision-making in large part by her great humanity, and that she is very smart. I think President Biden did a damn good job in putting her on the Court, and I'm sorry goddam McConnell stole two Justices that Biden otherwise would have appointed.
I'm sorry my Aunt Rose, who was an avid Supreme Court watcher all of her adult life is not here now. I'd love to talk with her about Jackson, in particular.
I watched a recent recording last evening of James Carville and Al Hunt take questions from their audience on the Politicon Podcast. Not my normal activity but I like to check in with them from time to time.
Carville had a very upbeat message I wanted to share if you haven’t seen it. He said it’s most likely at this point a foregone conclusion that the Democrats will take back the White House and Congress in 2028. Whatever you feel about Carville I understand! But he also predicted just about every win we saw this week. He indicated that after the Democrats retake the Government the President will issue a Blue Ribbon Committee that will probably include people like Judge Luttig among others. Carville said it doesn’t matter who is on the Committee because it’s baked into the needs of the country.
He said that will be a formality that will precede the President agreeing to legislation that increases the SCOTUS to 13 Justices. He said the President will pick those justices rather fast and work to start undoing the unconstitutional damages that have occurred over the last 20 years. He was dead serious. May his words be accurate!
Thank you for your explanation of Justice Jackson’s decision; I was so confused when I first saw her decision.
Perhaps this Extreme Court should only rule under the shadow docket! No negative, hurtful comments. Maybe the 6 of them can go live on Military Bases as some of trump's cabinet have.
They are truly indecent and inhumane 😤
I recently listened to Adam Shiff explain the role of the Federalist Society in the selection of Supreme Court justices. He explained that the Federalist Society is controlled by mega wealthy donors of the business class. It not only finds and grooms loyal conservative candidates but it continues to assure that judges’ loyalty with gifts. So it is not surprising that the Court is negative on the tariffs. They hurt business. In a clash of interests between business and Trump, they will drop Trump. When a case involves individual liberties that affect all other classes in our society, they have no problem giving the green light to the oppressors. Seen in this way, the depth of the court’s corruption is the most serious malignancy in our democracy. Robert is so right remind us often that it must be reformed at the earliest possible moment.
May supreme cruelty self implode.
Thank you for your thoughts on Justice Jackson's actions. I am hoping you are correct - its the only explanation. Meanwhile, this whole thing is an abomination, and should not even be in the courts for discussion. Such a travesty - we can pay ICE and Argentina, but our own children and soldiers.
An informed column, as always, especially as respects Justice Jackson's maneuvering to maximize the chances of the full court declining to stay the district court's order in the SNAP benefits case, after the First Circuit, in an opinion, explains why it denied the stay. Thank you for that analysis. Having said that, the court's record on its shadow docket bids fair that the full court, albeit in summary order in a few paragraphs, will grant the stay, on The Wicked Man's application for relief after the First Circuit rules. The recent passport ruling, which you discuss at some length in your column, is an ominous sign, for it necessarily turned in part, as Justice Jackson's dissent point out, on the Court's evaluation of the competing irreparable injuries, when the administration's argument that it would be irreparably injured by failing to grant the stay sought there was impoverished. The administration's irreparable injury argument here (in the SNAP benefits case) is even more impoverished. Finally, a minor point, your focus on the cruelty of The Wicked Man and his administration (which here includes, functionally, the Supreme Court) might have benefited from your citation to Adam Serwer’s The Cruelty Is the Point: The Past, Present, and Future of Trump’s America (2021).
Not only did I find this post helpful, as always, but as someone who had just used “bury the lede” when texting with a friend yesterday, I found your historical usage explanation of “lede vs lead” fascinating and instructive! Thanks!
Before I may have never known what "bury the lede" was about and would have thought it a typo. I am not sure I need to know, 😆, but I learned something old today I think, but I'm old too. A laugh is always good!
Steve Bannon told a group of MAGANs: "If we lose the midterms and 2028 election, some of us are going to prison". Ya think?
And how about in some far flung country ..,
Yeah, let's send them to....Eswatini, or Somaliland.
I hear El Salvador is open for business...
Bukele would probably make Bannon his Minister of Security.