The University of California (UC) system is facing an unprecedented $1 billion demand from President Donald Trump’s administration, over allegations of antisemitism in the handling of 2024 pro-Palestinian student protests at UCLA.
According to UC President James Milliken, the demand—delivered on Friday—would have a crippling effect on the nation’s largest and most prestigious public university system, which operates 10 campuses including UCLA.
“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,” Milliken said. He stressed that the UC system contributes vital research, medical innovations, and technological advancements that benefit the entire nation.
The administration is reportedly seeking the sum to be paid in installments, alongside a $172 million claims fund to compensate Jewish students and others allegedly affected by discrimination. The move mirrors a strategy used against Columbia University, which agreed to pay a smaller settlement while adopting restrictions on admissions and hiring policies.
UCLA, already reeling from a federal freeze on over half a billion dollars in medical and science research funding, is the main focus of the accusations. The sanctions come amid Trump’s wider campaign against American universities, which his political base often accuses of liberal bias and opposition to nationalist policies.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a UC Board member, condemned the demand, urging the institution to resist. “There’s right and wrong, and we’ll do the right thing,” Newsom said. “This is about the future of this country, our competitiveness, and our sovereignty—not the temperament of an aggrieved individual who happens to be president.”
Pro-Palestinian protests rocked dozens of U.S. campuses in 2024, including UCLA, where demonstrations escalated into police crackdowns and violence. The Trump administration has framed the unrest as part of a broader failure by universities to protect Jewish students.
UC leaders are now reviewing the legal and financial implications of the White House’s unprecedented demand, as political pressure mounts from both sides of the aisle.
