Judge Orders Trump Administration to Restore Withheld Federal Grants to UCLA

A federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to reinstate federal grants for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) that had been frozen, according to newly filed court documents.

In August, UCLA reported that the administration had withheld $584 million in grants after the school was reprimanded by the federal government for its handling of pro-Palestinian protests.

According to the Los Angeles Times and Politico, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin ruled that more than $500 million in grants must be restored to the university. Judge Lin had earlier directed the administration to release a portion of the frozen funds in August.

The Trump administration has reduced or threatened to cut federal funding for universities in response to demonstrations against Israel’s assault on Gaza. Officials argued that schools, including UCLA, permitted antisemitic activity during the protests.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators, supported by some Jewish groups, counter that criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories should not be equated with antisemitism, nor should advocacy for Palestinian rights be treated as extremism.

In her order, Judge Lin of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said the indefinite suspension of grants from the National Institutes of Health appeared “arbitrary and capricious.” She instructed the NIH, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Transportation to reinstate research funding as the broader legal challenge proceeds.

Unions, faculty, and students across the University of California system, which includes UCLA, filed a lawsuit last week against the Trump administration, accusing it of withholding funds and taking other actions aimed at undermining academic freedom.

Concerns Over Free Expression

Rights groups argue that the administration’s measures pose a direct threat to free speech.

The University of California, Berkeley confirmed earlier this month that it had provided the government with information on 160 faculty members and students as part of a federal inquiry. UC President James Milliken warned that the system is facing one of the most serious challenges in its history; it receives more than $17 billion in federal aid annually.

The administration has also encountered legal setbacks in similar cases. Earlier this month, another federal judge ruled that it had unlawfully terminated more than $2 billion in grants to Harvard University.

Separately, the government settled federal investigations with Columbia University—which agreed to pay over $220 million—and Brown University, which pledged $50 million to support local workforce development.

At UCLA, massive demonstrations last year included a violent incident in which a pro-Israel crowd attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment. On Friday, the university introduced new protest regulations, formalizing interim policies set to take effect in September 2024.

Federal officials had proposed settling their UCLA inquiry by requiring the university to pay $1 billion, a demand Governor Gavin Newsom denounced as an act of “extortion.”

Human rights advocates note that the conflict in the Middle East has fueled a rise in both antisemitism and Islamophobia. While Trump has announced measures targeting antisemitism, his administration has not launched a parallel inquiry into Islamophobia.