Newsom Calls Out Trump Effort to Extort $1 Billion from UCLA
By Reuters | 10 Aug, 2025

Trump's antisemitism pretext to justify freezing federal funds and demanding $1 billion from UCLA lets California Governor Gavin Newsom label him as the "pay-to-play president".

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks at a press conference, accompanied by members of the Texas Democratic legislators, at the governor’s mansion in Sacramento, California, U.S., August 8, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Saturday that a $1 billion settlement offer by President Donald Trump's administration for UCLA amounted to political extortion to which the state will not bow.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

The University of California says it is reviewing a $1 billion settlement offer by the Trump administration for UCLA after the government froze hundreds of millions of dollars in funding over pro-Palestinian protests. 

UCLA, which is part of the University of California system, said this week the government froze $584 million in funding. Trump has threatened to cut federal funds for universities over pro-Palestinian student protests against U.S. ally Israel's military assault on Gaza.

KEY QUOTES 

"Donald Trump has weaponized the DOJ (Department of Justice) to kneecap America's #1 public university system — freezing medical & science funding until @UCLA pays his $1 billion ransom," the office of Newsom, a Democrat, said in a post.

"California won't bow to Trump's disgusting political extortion," it added.

"This isn't about protecting Jewish students - it's a billion-dollar political shakedown from the pay-to-play president."

CONTEXT

The government alleges universities, including UCLA, allowed antisemitism during the protests and in doing so violated Jewish and Israeli students' civil rights. The White House had no immediate comment beyond the offer.

Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the government wrongly equates their criticism of Israel's war in Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories with antisemitism, and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism.

Experts have raised free speech and academic freedom concerns over the Republican president's threats. The University of California says paying such a large settlement would "completely devastate" the institution.

UCLA PROTESTS AND ENVIRONMENT

Large demonstrations took place at UCLA last year. Last week, UCLA agreed to pay over $6 million to settle a lawsuit by some students and a professor who alleged antisemitism. It was also sued this year over a 2024 violent mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters.

Rights advocates have noted a rise in antisemitism, anti-Arab bias and Islamophobia due to conflict in the Middle East. The Trump administration has not announced equivalent probes into Islamophobia.

RECENT SETTLEMENTS

The government has settled its probes with Columbia University, which agreed to pay over $220 million, and Brown University, which said it will pay $50 million. Both accepted certain government demands. Settlement talks with Harvard University are ongoing.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Andrea Ricci)