Trump administration restores research grants to UCLA following federal judge’s order

Trump administration freezes UCLA research grants

The Trump administration has frozen $200 million in federal UCLA medical and science research funding Friday accusing the university of failing to stem antisemitism on its campus.

LOS ANGELES - The Trump administration has restored nearly all the 500 National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants that were previously suspended at UCLA.

What we know:

On Monday, attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice submitted a court-mandated update reporting that the NIH had restored all but nine of the grants to UCLA health science researchers. 

This action follows a similar order in August, which saw the National Science Foundation (NSF) restore 300 grants it had suspended in July. 

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Trump administration cuts UCLA research grants

Both the NIH and NSF had initially frozen the grants, accusing UCLA of tolerating antisemitism. 

The University of California (UC) system has been in ongoing disputes with the Trump administration over various efforts to reduce its funding.

The backstory:

In July, the Trump administration froze 800 science grants to UCLA, totaling more than $500 million in research funding. 

The grants pay for research into life-saving drugs, dementia, heart disease, robotics education, and other scientific inquiries. 

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The move was justified by accusations that the university tolerated antisemitism, claims that came after the school had formed a task force to examine bias. 

Over 600 Jewish faculty, students, staff, and alumni wrote a public letter stating that cutting the funding was "misguided and punitive," and would not diminish antisemitism.

What they're saying:

A public letter from over 600 Jewish faculty, students, staff, and alumni of the University of California stated, "cutting off hundreds of millions of research funds will do nothing to make UCLA safer for Jews nor diminish antisemitism in the world."

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What's next:

A coalition of UC faculty and staff have sued to stop the Trump administration from pursuing a $1.2 billion settlement, which is related to a litany of accusations, including the claim that UCLA tolerates antisemitism. 

The federal judge, Rita Lin, has issued a string of decisions restoring hundreds of other research grants across the UC system. Her injunction last week is preliminary, and the trial is ongoing. 

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The government has until October 10 to restore Department of Defense and Department of Transportation grants to other UC researchers as also ordered by Lin.