Trump freezes $200 million in UCLA science, medical research funding for anti-Semitism accusations

The Trump administration has frozen hundreds of science, medicine and other federal grants worth nearly $200 million, citing the university’s so-called “discrimination” in admissions and failure to “promote research environments without anti-Semitism.”

Atty’s decision came up with a decision on funding. General Pam Bundy and the Justice Department said this week that UCLA will act on the civil rights of Jews and Israeli students with “indifference”, complaining about the year of protests since October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, Israeli attacks on Israel, Israeli protests on campus.

The cancellation of the grant is the first targeted large-scale funding of the Trump administration to UCLA. So far, the White House has focused a lot on the attempt to remake higher education in quality East Coast schools such as Columbia, Brown and the University of Pennsylvania. In recent weeks, everyone has been struck with the government, including admissions, Jewish student life, student discipline, anti-Semitism training and gender identity in sports.

The National Science Foundation wrote in a letter to UCLA president Julio Frenk that it is terminating the grant because “University of California-University of Los Angeles continues to engage in racism, including during its enrollment process and in other areas of student life.”

An estimated 300 NSF grant totaling $180 million was cancelled. About half of the funds have been allocated. Before the letter was released Thursday, researchers expect the other half to follow.

In a letter to the university community Thursday, Frenke wrote that the cancelled grants came from NSF, NIH and other federal agencies, but he did not donate or list other agencies. A portion of the list of partial termination grants reviewed by the New York Times, totaling approximately $200 million. This list is provided by sources that share information without authorization.

Frenk called the administration’s decision “very disappointing” and “the damage done to Americans across the country, their work, their health and future depend on the groundbreaking work we do.”

“When notifying us, the federal government claimed anti-Semitism and prejudice were the causes,” Frenke wrote. “The far-reaching punishment of granting life-saving research would not help and would not address any so-called discrimination.”

A spokesperson for NSF and NIH did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

The federal government’s decision to detach UCLA from large amounts of federal funding is similar to a deal with the Ivy League agency.

The Trump administration canceled a multi-billion-dollar federal grant to Harvard University this spring, which has been sued in federal court to reverse the termination and prevent Trump’s move from canceling his ability to host international students. Harvard negotiates with the White House separately to end the legal battle.

Columbia University this month agreed to pay more than $200 million to the federal government to resolve the response to the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests to resolve the alleged anti-Semitism investigation. Brown University also reached a $50 million deal with the White House on Wednesday. Brown payments will be used for Rhode Island’s workforce development program.

The Justice Department said this week that UCLA has been found to violate the civil rights of Jews and Israeli students. The department also said it hopes the university will negotiate to avoid federal litigation.

The ministry gave UCLA a Tuesday deadline to convey its desire to negotiate. If not, it is ready to prosecute by September 2, the Justice Department said.

The University of California is not clear in a statement whether it will settle or go to court.

“UCLA has resolved and will continue to address the issues raised [the] The Justice Department notified,” Stett Holbrook, deputy director of strategy and critical communication, wrote in a statement Wednesday. He cited a $650 million settlement that the university reached a lawsuit with Jewish students who raised claims about camps discrimination against them in 2024.

“We have fully cooperated with the Justice Department’s investigation and are carefully reviewing its findings,” Holbrook wrote.

In a letter Thursday, Frenk beat the layoffs.

“Let me be clear: federal research grants are not handouts. Our researchers are competing fiercely for these grants and present work that the government itself considers crucial to the health, safety and economic future of the country.”

“Grants lead to medical breakthroughs, economic progress, improved national security and global competitiveness – all national priorities,” Frenke wrote. “We are actively evaluating our best course of action. We will continue to communicate as decisions move forward.”