The Trump administration has suspended over half a billion dollars in federal grant money to the University of California, Los Angeles.
The decision to halt the distribution of federal grants worth $584 million comes in response to an investigation of UCLA by the Justice Department. It found that the university failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students on campus from antisemitic threats during the anti-Israel protests that occurred on college campuses, after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Regarding UCLA, the Justice Department revealed that the university violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fourteenth Amendment, according to the Associated Press.
“Our investigation into the University of California system has found concerning evidence of systemic antisemitism at UCLA that demands severe accountability from the institution,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “This disgusting breach of civil rights against students will not stand: DOJ will force UCLA to pay a heavy price for putting Jewish Americans at risk and continue our ongoing investigations into other campuses in the UC system.”
The investigation discovered that UCLA acted “with deliberate indifference in creating a hostile educational environment for Jewish and Israeli students.” Additionally, the federal investigation and the decision to halt funding to UCLA came after a legal settlement with three Jewish students and a Jewish professor worth $6 million for failing to protect their civil rights. The incident stems from a 2024 campus demonstration in which anti-Israel protest groups prohibited the students and the professor from entering multiple areas of the school’s campus.
UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk posted a letter to the “Bruin Community” on his page on the university’s website discussing the government’s decision to halt funding to the school.
“The suspension of these funds is not only a loss to the researchers who rely on critical grants,” Frenk wrote. “It is a loss for Americans across the nation whose work, health, and future depend on our groundbreaking research and scholarship.”
The work of researchers in several departments at the university is contingent upon government funding, particularly from federal agencies such as the Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation. Frenk acknowledged this in the letter and claimed that the loss of such funding would be detrimental to his university and people throughout the country.
“Currently, a total of approximately $584 million in extramural award funding is suspended and at risk,” he said. “If these funds remain suspended, it will be devastating for UCLA and for Americans across the nation.”
James B. Milliken, the new president of the University of California system, announced he would speak with the Trump administration to address the DOJ investigation of UCLA and try to restore government funding to the school.
“This week, the University of California responded to the U.S. Department of Justice’s letters regarding Title VI and Title VII investigations at UCLA, agreeing to engage in dialogue with the federal administration,” Milliken said in a statement. “Our immediate goal is to see the $584 million in suspended and at-risk federal funding restored to the university as soon as possible.”
DOJ FINDS UCLA VIOLATED JEWISH STUDENTS’ CIVIL RIGHTS
“These cuts do nothing to address antisemitism. Moreover, the extensive work that UCLA and the entire University of California have taken to combat antisemitism has apparently been ignored,” he added. “The announced cuts would be a death knell for innovative work that saves lives, grows our economy, and fortifies our national security.”
“It is in our country’s best interest that funding be restored.”