Overview

• U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin issued a preliminary injunction that adds UCLA’s major NIH awards to an existing class-action challenge and directs the Justice Department to report compliance steps by Sept. 29.
• The court found the grant suspensions were likely arbitrary and capricious because agencies relied on generalized notices rather than grant-specific reasoning.
• UCLA reported about $584 million was frozen in late July; an earlier order restored $81 million in NSF funding, and Monday’s ruling also requires returning smaller DoD and DOT awards across UC campuses.
• Justice Department counsel argued the dispute belongs in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, citing recent Supreme Court guidance that could limit district-court remedies.
• The restored NIH funds cover hundreds of medical studies including Parkinson’s, cancer recovery, and nerve regeneration, as the administration has pressed for a roughly $1 billion to $1.2 billion settlement that UC leaders have resisted.