Administration Tells UC System to Pay the Biggest Fine Yet

The Trump administration is insisting the University of California system pay a $1 billion fine over antisemitism allegations in order for UCLA to get more than a half-billion in medical and science grant funding that had been frozen. Such an agreement would be the largest reached with a college in the administration's campaign so far. The proposal, which offers payment on an installment plan, was delivered Friday, the Los Angeles Times reports. The day before, Gov. Gavin Newsom had denounced such settlements made by Brown and Columbia and said UC should not acquiesce to President Trump's demands. "I will fight like hell to make sure that doesn't happen," said Newsom, a Democrat.

The terms would require UC to contribute $172 million to a fund for Jewish students and others affected by alleged violations of Title VII—which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or shared ancestry. UC has been in talks with the administration to try to regain access to $584 million in grant funding to UCLA that was frozen during the federal investigation, per the Times. Like the Brown and Columbia deals, the proposal has a provision in it that keeps federal officials from capitalizing on the deal to interfere directly with academic freedom, admissions, or hiring.

James Milliken, UC president, said in a statement that such a payment would devastate the system and hurt students and other Californians, per the New York Times. "These cuts do nothing to address antisemitism," he said. "Moreover, the extensive work that UCLA and the entire University of California have taken to combat antisemitism has apparently been ignored." Newsom, an ex officio member of the university's board of regents who appoints its members, was steadfast on Thursday. "There's principles," he said. "There's right and wrong, and we'll do the right thing, and what President Trump is doing is wrong, and everybody knows it."