A federal judge has ordered President Donald Trump‘s administration to restore some of the funding it cut from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in July, handing a partial victory to the state’s public university system which is facing a $1 billion settlement demand from the White House over accusations of antisemitism on campus.
Newsweek has reached out to UCLA via email for comment.
Why It Matters
The White House has cracked down on pro-Palestinian campus protests across the country since Trump returned to office in January. Much of the initiative has involved withholding or freezing hundreds of millions in federal funds for schools that the administration accuses of not doing enough to prevent antisemitism.
UCLA was a site of widespread protests last year against the Israeli government’s military actions in the Gaza Strip. The university’s response to the demonstrations was sharply criticized, particularly after counterprotesters attacked the pro-Palestinian encampment.
What To Know
Judge Rita F. Lin of the Northern District Court of California, who issued the order on Tuesday, had in June barred the National Science Foundation (NSF) from terminating grants to University of California researchers.
UCLA said in early August that the Trump administration had suspended $584 million in federal grants.
In her Tuesday ruling, which Newsweek has reviewed, Lin said in the directive, referring to her earlier order, that the NSF was in violation after cutting off funding to UCLA and she ruled that suspended grants be restored.
“NSF’s actions violate the preliminary injunction,” Lin said in the ruling.
“Therefore, pursuant to the preliminary injunction, NSF’s suspension of the grants at issue here is VACATED.”
It was not immediately clear how much funding would be returned to the campus.
The Trump administration is also seeking a $1 billion settlement from UCLA after a Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division investigation issued a finding on July 29 that the college violated the equal protection clause of the 14th 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.”
UCLA is one of at least eight elite colleges—all in states or districts that voted blue in 2024—that face having their funding and grants cut after being accused of antisemitism over pro-Palestinian protests or op-eds.
Many have also been told to change their practices to fall in line with the Trump administration’s stance on diversity initiatives, “wokeism,” and transgender-inclusive policies.
The University of California said last week it was reviewing the $1 billion settlement offer by the Trump administration.
The college’s president, James B. Milliken, said the size of the proposed settlement would “devastate” the university.
What People Are Saying
Politico cited attorney for the plaintiffs Claudia Polsky, saying after the Tuesday ruling: “We are delighted that millions of dollars of grants wrongfully held hostage in the administration’s political negotiations with UCLA will now be restored.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi, referring to the July 29 finding by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said: “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.”
What Happens Next
In her ruling, Lin ordered a joint status report by August 19, 2025, to confirm all steps to comply with the Preliminary Injunction have been completed by NSF.
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