Trump administration ties research dollars to accountability, while Newsom calls it “extortion.”
The Trump administration froze more than $584 million in federal research grants to UCLA, citing concerns over antisemitism, racial discrimination in admissions, and transgender policy violations. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is now seeking a $1 billion settlement from the university as part of broader efforts to demand accountability from institutions that rely on taxpayer dollars but promote left-leaning ideologies.
The action follows a 2024 encampment on UCLA’s campus tied to the Israel-Hamas conflict. On May 1, 2024, pro-Israel counterprotestors clashed with a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA’s Dickson Plaza after demonstrators had occupied the area for several weeks. Objects were thrown, chemicals were sprayed, and fireworks ignited during hours of unrest before police moved in after 3 a.m. the following morning.
In a Notice of Findings issued July 29, the DOJ said UCLA showed “deliberate indifference” toward antisemitic harassment, and demanded sweeping reform—ranging from new protest rules to changes in admissions and aid policies–in exchange for restored funding.
Officers arrested about 210 people as they cleared the site. Jewish students later reported being harassed and blocked from attending class, prompting U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi to rule that UCLA could not allow protestors to deny Jewish students access to campus facilities.
Governor Gavin Newsom quickly leapt to UCLA’s defense, blasting Trump’s move as “extortion” in an appearance on the liberal Pod Save America podcast.
“Trump just threatened to cut $1B, to extort $1B, from one of the finest research institutions in the world, UCLA. Let me make this crystal clear … we will never, ever sell our soul to Donald Trump. Harvard, I pray you are listening, how could you? What’s the point of your damn endowment if you cannot stand on principle?”
On August 12, 2025, U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin, of the Northern District of California, ordered the Trump Administration to partially restore $584 million in suspended NIH and NSF research grants to UCLA, ruling that the blanket freeze violated a prior injunction and lacked sufficient legal justification.
UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk and UC President James Milliken responded in a joint message, pledging cooperation: “Earlier this week, we offered to engage in good-faith dialogue with the Department to protect the university and its critical research mission.” Milliken emphasized the demand’s severity, stating the proposed sum would “completely devastate our country’s greatest public university system” and inflict “great harm on our students and all Californians.”
The dispute now moves through the courts, with both the Justice Department and UCLA preparing further filings. While federal officials insist the settlement is necessary to enforce civil rights compliance, university leaders warn of lasting damage to California’s research enterprise if the freeze remains in place.
The outcome is expected to shape not only the future of UCLA’s federally funded programs but also how Washington uses its financial leverage over higher education nationwide.
