EDITORS' CORNER
President Donald Trump’s administration has suspended more than $200 million in research grants to UCLA, citing antisemitism and bias as the reasons.
The suspended grants are primarily through the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, according to a memo to the community from UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk.
The Los Angeles Times reported that with the addition of halted Department of Energy grants, the censure represents $300 million in suspended grants, according to “information shared with The Times on Friday by UC and Trump administration officials.”
Frenk, in his memo, denounced the decision as wrongheaded.
“With this decision, hundreds of grants may be lost, adversely affecting the lives and life-changing work of UCLA researchers, faculty and staff,” Frenk wrote in his July 31 memo. “In its notice to us, the federal government claims antisemitism and bias as the reasons. This far-reaching penalty of defunding life-saving research does nothing to address any alleged discrimination.”
The announcement came just days after UCLA agreed to a $6.13 million settlement to end a lawsuit filed by Jewish students who were blocked from accessing parts of the campus during raucous and violent anti-Israel protests in 2024.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom slammed the decision to suspend the funding.
“Freezing critical research funding for UCLA – dollars that were going to study invasive diseases, cure cancer, and build new defense technologies – makes our country less safe,” he said in a statement. “It is a cruel manipulation to use Jewish students’ real concerns about Antisemitism on campus as an excuse to cut millions of dollars in grants that were being used to make all Americans safer and healthier.”
“This is the action of a president who doesn’t care about students, Californians, or Americans who don’t comply with his MAGA ways.”
The Los Angeles Times reported that UCLA is the first big school to be targeted on the West Coast under the Trump administration tactic of suspending funds to negotiate improved campus policies.
“Until now, the White House has largely focused its attempts to remake higher education on elite East Coast schools such as Columbia, Brown and the University of Pennsylvania. Each has reached deals with the government in recent weeks over issues including admissions, Jewish student life, student discipline, antisemitism training and gender identity in sports,” it reported.
Last week, Brown University struck a deal with the Trump administration, committing to pay $50 million to regain federal research funding and settle three probes into alleged discrimination. Columbia University last month also agreed to pay $200 million to resolve federal investigations into alleged breaches of anti-discrimination laws.
Also last week, two federal agencies launched probes into Duke University to investigate claims of racial bias as the government paused over $100 million in funding to the elite institution.
MORE: UCLA agrees to $6.13 million settlement to end ‘Jew Exclusion Zone’ lawsuit
