Federal Judge Orders Trump Administration to Restore Partial UCLA Grant Funding

A federal judge, Rita Lin, has ordered President Donald Trump's administration to reinstate a portion of the over $584 million in federal research grants suspended for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The suspensions, which affected around 800 grants, were deemed to violate a prior June preliminary injunction that blocked the National Science Foundation from terminating additional grants at UCLA. The administration froze the funding citing concerns over antisemitism linked to pro-Palestinian student protests and alleged violations related to affirmative action and participation in women's sports. UCLA is currently reviewing a government settlement offer that would require the university to pay $1 billion, a sum it has called financially devastating. The case has sparked debate over free speech and academic freedom, with critics arguing that the government is conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism, and California Governor Gavin Newsom labeling the settlement offer as extortion. Similar disputes have occurred at other universities, with settlements reached at Columbia and Brown, while talks continue with Harvard.