White House seeks $1 billion from UCLA for alleged antisemitism

The White House is seeking a $1 billion settlement from UCLA over allegations that the university failed to stop antisemitism on campus — a payment that would "completely devastate” the country’s largest public university system, according to UC officials.

UC President James Milliken said in a statement Friday that the university system is reviewing the Justice Department’s demands and is negotiating with the Trump administration in an effort to reinstate federal research dollars.

“As a public university, we are stewards of taxpayer resources and a payment of this scale would completely devastate our country’s greatest public university system as well as inflict great harm on our students and all Californians,” Milliken said. “Americans across this great nation rely on the vital work of UCLA and the UC system for technologies and medical therapies that save lives, grow the U.S. economy, and protect our national security.”

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What’s at stake?

Last week, the Trump administration suspended hundreds of UCLA’s research grants.

UCLA chancellor Julio Frenk said in a letter the cuts were a great loss to not only researchers, but to the Americans whose “work, health and future” depend on that research.

The move has left officials scrambling to figure out how they’re going to pay for experiments that are already underway and has left hundreds of grants in limbo.

How we got here 

The Department of Justice last month found that UCLA failed to adequately respond to antisemitism on campus.

“Its inaction constitutes a clear violation of our federal civil rights laws, and the Justice Department will hold UCLA accountable to their legal obligations so that all students can have equal protection under the law,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division said in a statement.

In response, Attorney General Pam Bondi said the university would be forced to “pay a heavy price” for putting Jewish students at risk.

The DOJ announced its litigation against the university on the same day that UCLA settled a separate antisemitism lawsuit for $6.45 million. Along with the payouts, the settlement prohibits UCLA from allowing the exclusion of Jewish students from programs, activities or campus areas.

In March, UCLA launched an Initiative to Combat Antisemitism, which will implement recommendations from an earlier task force.

Similar settlements nationwide

Other universities have clawed back some of their federal funding after reaching settlements with the Trump administration. Two Ivy League universities, Columbia and Brown, have agreed to pay $221 million and $50 million, respectively, over antisemitism allegations. Harvard is also in ongoing negotiations with the Trump administration.

The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.