Donald Trump is directing agencies to see where they can slash federal funding to the state of California, in a move that could start as soon as Friday, according to CNN.
While the Trump administration is eyeing wider cuts, two sources told the outlet that the government was specifically targeting grants to schools in the University of California and California State University systems over alleged antisemitism on campus, the same rationale used to withhold federal funds from Harvard University and Columbia University.
A White House official told CNN Friday afternoon that no formal decision had been made with regards to funding.
California Governor Gavin Newsom responded to CNN’s report in a post on X, with a threat of his own.
“Californians pay the bills for the federal government. We pay over $80 BILLION more in taxes than we get back. Maybe it’s time to cut that off, @realDonaldTrump,” wrote Newsom, whose state generates the highest tax revenue of any state in the country.
In March, the Trump administration announced it was cancelling $400 million in grants to Columbia, and in April said the government would withhold $2.2 billion in grants to Harvard.
Trump’s crackdown at these universities has been part of a larger campaign to shutter pro-Palestinian speech on campuses. Last year at UCLA, a mob of celebrity-backed pro-Israel counter protesters attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment, calling for a “Second Nabka,” while police officers cowered in a nearby building. Meanwhile, Jewish students and a Jewish professor have filed a lawsuit against the university, claiming that the school allowed the pro-Palestinian protesters to prevent them from reaching certain parts of campus.
This is the latest escalation in Trump’s ongoing efforts to kneecap the blue state. The Trump administration previously blocked California from accessing millions in FEMA grant money, which is particularly troubling as wildfire season begins in June. Late last month, Trump threatened to withhold federal funding to California over a transgender athlete’s planned participation in a track and field event, which the president claimed violated his February executive order banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports.
The post Trump to Axe Federal Funding for California as Revenge Tour Escalates appeared first on New Republic.
