This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact The Epoch Times Reprints.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a press conference, accompanied by Texas Democratic legislators, at the governor’s mansion in Sacramento, Calif., on Aug. 8, 2025. Carlos Barria/Reuters
California Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized the Trump administration on Aug. 8 after the Department of Justice sought a $1 billion settlement against the University of California–Los Angeles, over alleged anti-Semitism and other civil rights violations at the university.
Speaking at a press conference on Aug. 8, California’s Democratic governor said, “[The president] has threatened us through extortion with a billion-dollar fine unless we do his bidding.”
“As long as I’m governor, I will stand tall and push back against that. And I believe every member of California legislature feels the same way. We will not be complicit in this kind of attack on academic freedom on this extraordinary public institution,” Newsom said.
UCLA is facing a $1 billion fine over recent pro-Palestinian protests on its campus. The protests at UCLA were among many that spread across campuses around the country since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an attack across southern Israel.
On July 29, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division concluded that a pro-Palestinian protest encampment formed on the UCLA campus in the spring of 2024 created a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students, and that the university showed deliberate indifference toward this emerging hostile environment. By acting with deliberate indifference, UCLA failed to act on its obligations under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Justice Department concluded.
Earlier this week, UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk announced that $584 million in federal grants to the university had already been halted.
Newsom joined with Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, Attorney General Rob Bonta, California Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire, California House Speaker Robert Rivas, and California Legislative Jewish Caucus co-chairs Scott Wiener and Jesse Gabriel to criticize the Trump administration for the looming fine, and to defend UCLA’s actions to address the campus unrest.
“UCLA has taken aggressive, concrete steps to crack down on the vile scourge of antisemitism on campus, and we are confident Chancellor Frenk remains committed to this critical work,” their statement reads. “As Jewish leaders and strong allies, we are united against Trump’s assault and will fight like hell because California will not bow to this kind of disgusting political extortion.”
The Epoch Times reached out to the White House and the Department of Justice for comment in response to Newsom’s criticisms. Neither office responded by publication time.
Earlier this year, the Justice Department announced the formation of a task force to investigate and combat anti-Semitism on college campuses around the country.
Last month, Columbia University agreed to pay out $200 million to settle claims of discriminatory practices on the campus. The New York-based university will pay out $20 million specifically to address alleged civil rights violations targeting Jewish employees at the university.
Brown University also agreed last month to pay out $50 million over the next decade and commit to additional efforts to combat campus anti-Semitism and to other policy adjustments, in a deal that ended investigations into sexual and racial discrimination on campus.
