Trump administration seeks a $1 billion UCLA settlement
The Trump administration is seeking $1 billion settlement from the UCLA weeks after the Department of Justice accused the school of "antisemitism and bias."
The White House confirmed to CBS News on Friday that it is asking for $1 billion from the university, but did not provide additional information.
In response to the proposed settlement, UC President James Milliken released a statement.
"Earlier this week, we offered to engage in good faith dialogue with the Department to protect the University and its critical research mission," the statement read in part. "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."
Friday's legal move follows the Trump administration's suspension of more than $500 million in federal grants, UCLA said earlier this week.
The U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division claimed the university had violated the "Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964."
It also said the university failed to "adequately" respond to complaints from Jewish and Israeli students over alleged "offensive harassment and abuse" they faced from Oct. 7, 2023, to the present.
UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk said that the loss of funding will impact everyone who relies on "groundbreaking" research.
"It is a loss for Americans across the nation whose work, health, and future depend on the groundbreaking work we do," Frenk said last week.
Milliken echoed that sentiment on Friday in his response to the proposed settlement.
"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," Milliken said in his statement.
The Trump administration has reached similar settlements with Columbia University and Brown University to restore funding following alleged violations of anti-discrimination laws.
