By COLLIN BINKLEY and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ, Associated Press
According to a person familiar with the situation, the Trump administration is withholding $339 million in research funding to the University of California, Los Angeles, citing civil rights breaches pertaining to women’s sports, affirmative action, and antisemitism.
In rare instances, the federal government has pursued a public institution, but it has stopped or halted federal funds over comparable accusations against private colleges.
The person, who spoke about internal discussions on condition of anonymity, said that several federal agencies informed UCLA this week that they were suspending grants due to civil rights concerns, including $240 million from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services.
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The Trump administration recently revealed that the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division had determined that UCLA had intentionally ignored the creation of a hostile learning environment for Jewish and Israeli students, in violation of both Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
As part of a settlement last week, Columbia agreed to pay $200 million to end investigations into the government’s claims that the institution had broken federal antidiscrimination rules. Additionally, almost $400 million in research funding are restored by the agreement.
With financial penalties now considered a given, the Trump administration intends to use its agreement with Columbia as a model for other universities.
According to a statement from the National Science Foundation, UCLA has been notified that its financial awards would be suspended since the university does not align with the agency’s aims.
The government’s decision was deemed extremely unsatisfactory by UCLA’s chancellor, Julio Frenk.
He stated in a statement that the loss of hundreds of awards might have a negative impact on the lives and transformative work of UCLA faculty, staff, and researchers.
In its letter, the Department of Energy cited multiple instances of noncompliance and criticized UCLA for asking candidates to reveal their race in their personal statements and for taking ZIP code and family income into account. California banned affirmative action in college admissions in 1996, and the Supreme Court overturned the statute in 2023.
According to the letter, the school has disenfranchised Asian American, Jewish, and white applicants by taking actions that, in all but name, amount to a clear attempt to use race-based admissions.
Additionally, it claimed that by permitting transgender women to play on women’s teams, UCLA discriminates against women and fails to foster an atmosphere free from antisemitism.
According to Frenk, the federal government cites bigotry and antisemitism in its letter as justifications for the funding block, but this severe punishment of cutting off financing for life-saving research does nothing to address any purported discrimination.
Three Jewish students and a Jewish professor sued UCLA earlier this week, claiming the university had violated their civil rights by permitting pro-Palestinian demonstrators to bar them from classes and other campus places in 2024. The university and the professors struck a $6 million settlement.
At first, UCLA had maintained that it was not legally liable for the problem as demonstrators, not the institution, had barred Jewish students from certain places. Additionally, the university collaborated with law enforcement to prevent new protest camps from being established.
The institution has stated that it will keep putting suggestions into practice and is dedicated to campus safety and inclusivity.
Binkley reported from Washington, and Rodriguez from San Francisco.
