By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump’s administration has frozen $584 million in federal funding for the University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA said on Wednesday after the government reprimanded the university over pro-Palestinian protests.
The Trump administration has threatened to cut federal funds for universities over pro-Palestinian protests against U.S. ally Israel’s war in Gaza. The government alleges universities, including UCLA, allowed antisemitism during the protests.
Large demonstrations took place at UCLA last year. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the government wrongly equates their criticism of Israel’s military assault in Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories with antisemitism, and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism.
“Currently, a total of approximately $584 million in extramural award funding is suspended and at risk,” UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk said in an update on the university website.
The Los Angeles Times reported UCLA leaders were preparing to negotiate with the government over the freeze. The White House had no immediate response to a request for comment.
Last week, the university agreed to pay over $6 million to settle a lawsuit by some students and a professor who alleged antisemitism. It was also sued earlier this year over a 2024 attack on pro-Palestinian protesters at the height of the U.S. campus protest movement.
The government has in recent weeks settled its probes with Columbia University, which agreed to pay over $220 million, and Brown University, which said it will pay $50 million. Both institutions accepted certain government demands. Talks to settle with Harvard University are ongoing.
Rights advocates have raised concerns about academic freedom and free speech.
The government has also attempted to deport foreign student protesters but faced judicial roadblocks. Stanford University’s student-run newspaper sued the Trump administration on Wednesday, saying student writers were censoring themselves and turning down assignments related to Gaza to avoid being targeted for deportation.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Howard Goller)
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