Trump Admin Seeks $1 Bn Settlement From University of California Amid Antisemitism Charges

The US administration is looking for a $1 billion settlement from the University of California, Los Angeles, a White House official told on Friday.

According to the official, who spoke to Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, the US government is seeking the settlement.  The Trump administration has suspended $584 million in federal grants, the university said this week.

In recent times, the Department of Justice has accused the University of California (UCLA) of antisemitism.

UCLA is the first public university in the US whose federal grants have been targeted by the administration over allegations of civil rights violations, associated with antisemitism and affirmative action. Federal funding has been paused by the Trump administration against private colleges over similar allegations.

In a statement, the new UC president, James B Milliken said on Friday that it had received notice from the Department of Justice and is reviewing it.

Earlier this week, Milliken said, “We offered to engage in good faith dialogue with the Department to protect the University and its critical research mission.”

He further said that 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.”

Recently, the UCLA reached a $6 million settlement with three Jewish students and a Jewish professor who sued the university, while arguing that it violated their civil rights by allowing pro-Palestinian protesters in 2024 to block their access to classes and other areas on campus.

Additionally, the university has said that it is committed to campus safety and inclusivity and will continue to implement recommendations.