California Governor Newsom, who has repeatedly "hardened" the Trump administration on many issues such as tariffs, immigration, university policies, and federal funding, recently added another "feud" with Trump because of his demand for a $1 billion settlement from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The California Governor's Office posted on social media on August 9, local time, denounced Trump's move as "disgusting political blackmail" and California will not bow to it.
“Donald Trump is using the Department of Justice as a weapon to weaken America’s No. 1 public university system – freezing medical and scientific funding until UCLA pays his $1 billion ransom.” The post emphasized, “California will not give in to Trump’s disgusting political blackmail.
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British Reuters reported on the 9th that the Trump administration froze $584 million in federal scientific research funds at UCLA earlier this week on the grounds that it supported "anti-Semitism." The Trump administration subsequently proposed a settlement requiring UCLA to pay $1 billion in exchange for unfreezing the funds.
According to the US Politico News Network, Newsom rebuked Trump at a press conference on the 8th for "threatening us with blackmail unless we obey his orders." "We will not be complicit in attacks on academic freedom at this extraordinary public institution, unlike those who have chosen another path," Newsom, a member of the University of California's Board of Trustees, said, vowing to "fight back vigorously" and sue. On the same day, Newsom was followed by several Democratic congressmen from Texas who fled California to seek support in protest of the state's redistricting.
Under the proposed settlement, the Trump administration requires UCLA to pay it $1 billion and establish a $172 million compensation fund to compensate affected Jewish students and others. The New York Times pointed out that if UCLA agrees, it will become the most expensive settlement agreement reached by an American university with the White House so far, far exceeding the US$221 million settlement of Columbia University and the US$50 million settlement of Brown University.
University of California President James Milliken confirmed on the 8th that the school "has just received a document from the Department of Justice and is reviewing it carefully." He added, “As public universities, we are stewards of taxpayer resources, and a fine of this magnitude would completely destroy our nation’s preeminent public university system and cause enormous harm to our students and all Californians.”
UCLA President Julio Frenk also stated on the 8th that he will make every effort to protect the interests of faculty, staff and students and firmly defend the values and principles of the school. He issued a statement on the 6th confirming that the school’s federal funding totaling approximately $584 million has been frozen.
The New York Times stated that, like many other top schools, UCLA relies heavily on federal research funds, with about 11% of its revenue coming from federal grants and contracts.
After taking office in January this year, the Trump administration began to "liquidate" American colleges and universities in response to the anti-war protests in support of Palestine that broke out last spring. It threatened to freeze funds and ban the recruitment of international students, and required many American colleges and universities such as Harvard University and Columbia University to eradicate "anti-Semitism" and abolish admissions policies that favor ethnic minorities.
However, the New York Times pointed out that the Trump administration’s crackdown on UCLA was both sudden and severe. Previously, the school was embroiled in a lawsuit with three Jewish students and a Jewish professor, who accused UCLA of violating their civil rights by acquiescing to pro-Palestinian protesters to prevent them from entering classes and other areas on campus. On July 29, the day the two parties reached a settlement agreement, the U.S. Department of Justice determined that UCLA had worrying systemic anti-Semitism, and the federal government subsequently began freezing the school’s research funding.
On August 8, local time, California Governor Newsom held a press conference. Reuters
Newsom has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the Trump administration's freeze on UCLA's funding. On the 7th, he also vowed to "do everything possible to ensure" that UCLA does not bow to the federal government and does not become "another law firm that takes a knee, another company that sells its soul, or another institution that takes shortcuts and chooses the easy wrong instead of the hard right path."
On the 8th, Trump requested a settlement of US$1 billion. In addition to losing money, the terms of the settlement proposed by the Trump administration also require UCLA to appoint a monitor to enforce the terms of the settlement, eliminate scholarships related to race or ethnicity and stop diversity statements in hiring.
This incident triggered widespread concerns about freedom of speech and academic freedom in American universities. Reuters reported that pro-Palestinian protesters and some Jewish groups pointed out that the Trump administration mistakenly regarded criticism of Israel's military operations in Gaza as anti-Semitism and misunderstood the fight for Palestinian rights as support for extremism.
Human rights groups have also warned that conflicts in the Middle East have led to a rise in anti-Semitism, anti-Arabism and Islamophobia, but the Trump administration has not launched a similar investigation into Islamophobia.
According to the New York Times, the Trump administration is currently negotiating with a number of universities, including Cornell University and Harvard University. Brown and Columbia have both accepted the settlements, and Penn's settlement did not involve monetary penalties. Of all the universities targeted by the Trump administration, Harvard is the only one to file a lawsuit alleging that the administration acted illegally. Still, Harvard remains in talks with the Trump administration to seek a resolution to the conflict. It's unclear what steps UCLA will take.