The Trump administration has suspended $584 million in federal funding to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)—nearly double the previously reported amount—amid a civil rights investigation into the university’s handling of alleged antisemitic incidents and affirmative action policies. The announcement was made Wednesday by UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk.

This marks the first time a public university has faced such punitive action under the administration’s broader campaign targeting civil rights violations on college campuses. Similar actions have been taken previously against private institutions.

“If these funds remain frozen, the consequences for UCLA and the broader American public will be severe,” said Chancellor Frenk, citing the university’s contributions to scientific innovation and public health. The affected grants, he noted, include key funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Energy.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, UCLA violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by failing to adequately address what it called a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students.

The suspension follows a $6 million settlement between UCLA and three Jewish students and a Jewish faculty member who alleged that the university failed to act when pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked access to classrooms and campus facilities during protests in 2024.

Under the settlement agreement, UCLA pledged to:

• Allocate $2.3 million to eight organizations focused on combating antisemitism and supporting Jewish student life.
• Establish a new Office of Campus and Community Safety to oversee campus protests.
• Introduce new campus-wide policies to address bias and promote inclusivity.

Chancellor Frenk—whose family fled Nazi Germany and whose wife is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor—also announced a campus-wide initiative aimed at tackling antisemitism and anti-Israeli sentiment.

University of California President James B. Milliken criticized the administration’s move, saying, “These funding cuts do not solve the problem of antisemitism. In fact, they ignore the considerable efforts already underway at UCLA and throughout the UC system to combat it.”

Milliken warned that the loss of funding would jeopardize crucial research programs that drive innovation, public health, and national security. He confirmed ongoing negotiations with federal officials over the allegations.

The UCLA case follows a similar federal probe into Columbia University, which recently agreed to a $200 million settlement over civil rights violations. In that case, more than $400 million in federal research grants was subsequently reinstated.

The Trump administration has signaled that the Columbia resolution may serve as a blueprint for future enforcement efforts, with financial penalties expected to become a standard tool in civil rights compliance actions across U.S. higher education.