SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge has mandated the Trump administration to reinstate a portion of the federal research grants suspended from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). This ruling comes shortly after the White House sought a $1 billion settlement from the university last week.
In a decision rendered on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin found that the reduction in funding by the Trump administration infringed upon her earlier judgment from June, which had barred the National Science Foundation from terminating research grants for the University of California system. Judge Lin asserted that the administration’s latest actions were an attempt to bypass her ruling by categorizing the funding cuts as “suspensions” instead of outright “terminations.”
Lin pointed out that there is no substantial distinction between a “termination” and an indefinite or “final” suspension of funding in this context, stating that the government’s actions contradicted her preliminary injunction. The judge noted that more than $324 million in grants were impacted across the University of California system due to these federal cuts.
The UCLA community has not yet released any public comments reacting to this ruling, which was prompted by a complaint from a group of university researchers challenging the funding reductions.
The Trump administration’s funding cuts were part of a broader initiative targeting universities that held pro-Palestinian protests last year. In late October, the Justice Department accused UCLA of violating federal civil rights laws by not effectively addressing protests that allegedly fostered a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students, claiming the university did not adequately address antisemitism during the demonstrations. Following these allegations, UCLA faced significant funding reductions affecting approximately $584 million in federal grants from agencies including the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.
In conjunction with the funding cuts, the White House suggested it was pursuing a $1 billion settlement from UCLA. Reports indicate that this proposed agreement involves multiple payment installments aimed at reinstating the funding. The administration has also called for $172 million in claims to be paid to individuals affected by the asserted civil rights violations. This settlement demand significantly exceeds previous agreements the Trump administration has brokered with other universities.
As the situation develops, it remains to be seen how the university and the federal government will respond to the latest judicial ruling and the ongoing negotiations surrounding the settlement.
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