US Judge Orders Restoration of Part of University of California Research Funds
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A US federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to reinstate part of the funding it cut from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in July, as the university is facing a $1 billion settlement demand from the White House over alleged antisemitism on campus.
It remains unclear how much funding UCLA will receive back. The judge’s order is expected to cover only about 300 National Science Foundation (NSF) grants, out of roughly 800 awards the Trump administration froze, which together amount to $584 million from the NSF, National Institutes of Health, and Department of Energy, Anadolu Agency reported.
Judge Rita F. Lin of the Northern District Court of California, in her decision, ruled that the foundation violated the court’s directive by halting UCLA’s funding and ordered the reinstatement of any grants the agency suspended between July 30 and Aug. 12.
“The harm experienced by the researchers subject to suspension is identical to the harm caused by termination: research grinds to an immediate halt and may eventually be wasted, staff and graduate students lose jobs and valuable experience, and critical work goes unpublished,” she said in the ruling.
The Trump administration has demanded $1 billion from UCLA to resolve allegations of discrimination and antisemitism on campus, offering to restore over $500 million in frozen federal grants in exchange last week. The proposed settlement includes a $172 million claims fund for alleged victims of Title VII violations under the Civil Rights Act.
The Justice Department previously suspended $584 million in federal funding after determining UCLA violated the Equal Protection Clause and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
The demand follows similar settlements with Ivy League schools Columbia and Brown, which agreed to pay $220 million and $50 million, respectively, in related civil rights investigations.
UCLA also settled a separate lawsuit last July, paying $6 million over allegations of allowing "Jew Exclusion Zones" during anti-Israel protests, according to the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.
Governor Gavin Newsom weighed in, contrasting California’s stance: "We’re not Brown, we’re not Columbia. ... I will fight like hell to make sure that doesn’t happen," he said in San Francisco.
