Columbia University president Katrina Armstrong steps down amid clashes with Trump over campus protests

The interim president of Columbia University is stepping down from her role amid a high-profile battle with the Trump administration. 

Katrina Armstrong said in a letter to staff on Friday that she would be standing down to make way for her successor Claire Shipman to take the reigns of the school. 

In it, she said that she ‘appreciated the opportunity’ of being able to ‘navigate this vast enterprise through some of the most difficult moments in its history’.

Armstrong added: ‘The world needs Columbia University, and you can be assured that I will do everything I can to tell that story.’ 

In a statement from the school, they said Armstrong would be returning to lead the University’s Irving Medical Center. 

It comes just days after the school agreed to meet President Trump’s demands for policy changes after he threatened to pull the plug on $400 million in grants. 

Those demands centered around widespread protests on campus concerning Israel’s war with Hamas, which the administration said was handled badly. 

This is a breaking news story.