UCLA
People walk on the plaza outside Royce Hall, on the UCLA campus on July 30, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Mario Tama/Getty Images

The Trump administration has suspended approximately $339 million in federal research grants to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), citing violations of anti-discrimination and civil rights laws. The freeze, which affects funding from agencies including the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Department of Energy (DOE), follows accusations that UCLA failed to adequately address antisemitism and discrimination on its campus.

This action was announced shortly after UCLA settled a lawsuit for over $6 million with Jewish students and a faculty member, who claimed the university permitted a hostile environment during large-scale pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protests following the Gaza conflict in 2024. The U.S. Department of Justice determined that UCLA violated civil rights by insufficiently responding to student complaints of antisemitism. Federal investigations at UCLA also involve alleged discrimination in admissions and compliance with diversity laws.

Federal officials stated that unless UCLA implements changes to eliminate the hostile environment and prevent recurrence, the institution could face further legal action. According to governmental letters, the reasons cited for the suspension include discrimination in admissions, lack of campus safety for Jewish students, and insufficient support for diversity initiatives; there are also accusations regarding inclusion of transgender athletes in women's sports.

University Chancellor Julio Frenk condemned the funding freeze, stating it jeopardizes critical research in medicine, science, and technology—research benefiting Americans nationwide. State leaders, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, criticized the freeze as endangering health, innovation, and national security, describing it as politicized retaliation.

As a result of the freeze, hundreds of grants supporting lifesaving and technology research are suspended, impacting UCLA's research community and potentially setting a major precedent for how the federal government interacts with public universities on civil rights compliance and free speech issues. UCLA and the University of California system are reviewing their legal and operational responses while continuing to implement anti-discrimination measures on campus.

Topics Ucla, Federal, Grant, Trump, Research, Funding, Discrimination, Lawsuit, Settlement, Jewish, Students, Protest, Higher, Education, California, Campus, Safety, Diversity, University, Policy