The Trump administration is seeking a $1 billion settlement from the University of California, Los Angeles, in its latest move to exert influence over higher education and secure major concessions from universities.
The demand follows the administration’s decision last week to freeze millions in federal research funding to UCLA. In a letter to the campus community, Chancellor Julio Frenk stated that $584 million was “suspended and at risk,” warning of “devastating” consequences to the university’s research mission. According to a source familiar with the matter, UCLA officials have returned to negotiations in an effort to restore the critical funding.
A draft of the proposed agreement, obtained by CNN, outlines the administration’s terms. It requires UCLA to pay the federal government $1 billion in installments and establish a separate $172 million claims fund for individuals impacted by violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination. If accepted, it would be the largest settlement the administration has secured from a higher education institution.
The agreement also stipulates significant operational and policy changes. UCLA would be required to appoint a resolution monitor to oversee the university and hire a new senior administrator focused on compliance with anti-discrimination laws. The proposal further calls for a ban on overnight demonstrations, revisions to protest policies, and the discontinuation of race- and ethnicity-based scholarships.
Under the terms, the university would also have to provide the monitor with admissions data, guarantee single-sex housing for women, ensure athletic recognition for female athletes in women’s sports, and cease providing gender-affirming care at the UCLA hospital and medical school. In exchange for meeting these conditions, UCLA’s federal funding would be restored, and its eligibility for future grants and contracts would be reaffirmed.
This action is part of a broader administration effort targeting alleged antisemitism on college campuses, with the Department of Justice currently conducting its own investigation into UCLA. The university recently launched an initiative to combat antisemitism and settled a separate lawsuit alleging it failed to protect Jewish students during pro-Palestinian campus protests in 2024. The administration has also reached multi-million-dollar agreements with Brown and Columbia Universities and is engaged in litigation with Harvard University over similar concerns.
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