Overview

• White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt publicly challenged Gov. Gavin Newsom at a briefing, asserting the administration’s legal right to demand a settlement from UCLA and inviting him to sue.
• The Department of Justice proposal would require UCLA to pay $1 billion to the federal government and contribute $172 million to a claims fund before restoring $584 million in NSF, NIH and DOE research grants.
• Newsom condemned the demand as political extortion aimed at silencing academic freedom and vowed to pursue litigation, although no lawsuit has been filed to date.
• The UC Board of Regents convened an emergency meeting but has yet to decide on a legal challenge or settlement, leaving hundreds of critical research grants suspended.
• UC leaders warn the settlement’s policy conditions, including installing a federal compliance monitor and overhauling protest and admissions rules, would undermine research operations and university autonomy.