Trump administration freezes $339M in UCLA grants and accuses the school
of rights violations
[August 02, 2025]
By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ and COLLIN BINKLEY
The Trump administration is freezing $339 million in research grants to
the University of California, Los Angeles, accusing the school of civil
rights violations related to antisemitism, affirmative action and
women’s sports, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The federal government has frozen or paused federal funding over similar
allegations against private colleges but this is one of the rare cases
it has targeted a public university.
Several federal agencies notified UCLA this week that they were
suspending grants over civil rights concerns, including $240 million
from the Department of Health and Human Services and the National
Institutes of Health, according to the person, who spoke about internal
deliberations on the condition of anonymity.
The Trump administration recently announced the U.S. Department of
Justice’s Civil Rights Division found UCLA violated the Equal Protection
Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964, “by acting with deliberate indifference in creating a hostile
educational environment for Jewish and Israeli students.”
Last week, Columbia agreed to pay $200 million as part of a settlement
to resolve investigations into the government's allegations that the
school violated federal antidiscrimination laws. The agreement also
restores more than $400 million in research grants.
The Trump administration plans to use its deal with Columbia as a
template for other universities, with financial penalties that are now
seen as an expectation.
The National Science Foundation said in a statement it informed UCLA
that it was suspending funding awards because the school isn't in line
with the agency's priorities.
UCLA’s chancellor Julio Frenk called the government's decision “deeply
disappointing.”
“With this decision, hundreds of grants may be lost, adversely affecting
the lives and life-changing work of UCLA researchers, faculty and
staff," he said in a statement.
The Department of Energy said in its letter it found several “examples
of noncompliance” and faulted UCLA for inviting applicants to disclose
their race in personal statements and for considering factors including
family income and ZIP code. Affirmative action in college admissions was
outlawed in California in 1996 and struck down by the Supreme Court in
2023.
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Children play outside Royce Hall at the University of California,
Los Angeles, campus in Los Angeles, Aug. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian
Dovarganes, File)
The letter said the school has taken steps that amount to “a
transparent attempt to engage in race-based admissions in all but
name,” disadvantaging white, Jewish and Asian American applicants.
It also said UCLA fails to promote an environment free from
antisemitism and discriminates against women by allowing transgender
women to compete on women’s teams.
Frenk said that in its letter the federal government "claims
antisemitism and bias as the reasons” to freeze the funding but
“this far-reaching penalty of defunding life-saving research does
nothing to address any alleged discrimination.”
Earlier this week, UCLA reached a $6 million settlement with three
Jewish students and a Jewish professor who sued the university
arguing it violated their civil rights by allowing pro-Palestinian
protesters in 2024 to block their access to classes and other areas
on campus.
UCLA initially had argued that it had no legal responsibility over
the issue because protesters, not the university, blocked Jewish
students’ access to some areas. The university also worked with law
enforcement to thwart attempts to set up new protest camps.
The university has said that it’s committed to campus safety and
inclusivity and will continue to implement recommendations.
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Rodriguez reported from San Francisco and Binkley from Washington.
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