Judge Orders Trump Admin to Unfreeze $500 Million in Grants to UCLA

The college violated the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act by failing to defend its Jewish students from anti-Semitism, the Department of Justice said.

People walk through the campus of the University of California—Los Angeles (UCLA) in Los Angeles on Aug. 11, 2025. Daniel Cole/File Photo/Reuters

A federal judge in San Francisco on Sept. 23 ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to restore $500 million in grant funding to researchers at the University of California—Los Angeles (UCLA).

U.S. District Judge Rita Lin had previously ordered the National Science Foundation to unfreeze $81 million in grants to the university, saying the government acted “through unreasoned form letters with little or no explanation, and from cutting off funds to stop research involving forbidden topics such as diversity, equity, and inclusion.”