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UC Faculty and Unions Sue Trump Administration Over UCLA Grant Freezes as Fight Intensifies

Plaintiffs seek emergency relief, saying threatened grant suspensions with sweeping demands tied to a proposed $1.2 billion payment unlawfully coerce UC governance.

Two people look out at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles on Aug. 7, 2025.
Students gather on the UCLA campus in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles on Sept. 10, 2025.
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Overview

  • A broad coalition of UC faculty groups, unions and students filed a federal lawsuit on Sept. 16 alleging the administration is trying to commandeer the university system and suppress protected speech.
  • Roughly $584 million in UCLA research grants were suspended in July; a judge later ordered the National Science Foundation to restore some awards and the agency complied, while other freezes remain unresolved.
  • A Justice Department demand letter, described in court filings and news reports, proposes installing a federally approved monitor, expanding federal access to campus records and imposing policy changes, with a payment reported at about $1 billion to $1.2 billion to restore funding.
  • Faculty groups this week also sued the UC Board of Regents to obtain the confidential demand letter; a judge directed the regents to justify withholding the document and plans an October hearing.
  • UC leaders warn that about $17 billion in annual federal support is at risk, and California lawmakers introduced SB607 to pursue a ballot measure creating a state research funding backstop, while the administration frames its actions as civil-rights enforcement under Title VI.