Federal โคJudge Orders Trump Administration to Restore UCLA Research Grants
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore research grants to UCLA that were rescinded in late July, citing allegations of campus antisemitism,โข admissions practices, โฃand recognition of transgender identities. Judge Audrey Lin issued the injunction,โ rebuffing the government’s argument that individual researchers โคlacked standing to sue over the grant โsuspensions, as the funds are awarded to the โขuniversity itself. Lin asserted that the โcourt “will not shut its doors” toโ researchers seeking redress for โคviolations of their constitutional andโค statutory โrights.
the rescinded grants totaled $584 million,including $81โฃ million from โthe National Science Foundation – which Lin โhad previously restored – and โฃ$3 million from the Department of Energy,which remains โsuspended.Theโ administration had proposed โa roughly $1.2-billion fine and demanded notableโ changes to UCLA’s policies regarding admissions,protest rules,gender-affirming healthcare for minors,and internal record disclosure in exchange for restoring the remaining funds.
UCLA maintains it has already implemented changes to improve the campus climate for Jewish students and does not utilize raceโฃ in admissions. Chancellor Julio โขFrenk โhas argued that withholding โresearch fundingโ is ineffective in addressing allegedโ discrimination. Universityโฃ of California leadersโ have stated theyโ will not pay the proposed โ$1.2-billion fine and are currently negotiatingโ with the Trump administration,though many settlement proposals are considered unacceptable.
The grant suspensions have created significant hardship for UCLA researchers. Labs โhave โขreduced hours and operations, and layoffs were considered. Neil Garg, a professor of chemistry and biochemistryโข whose $2.9 million grant was suspended, expressedโ relief at the injunction, stating his colleagues and he had been aggressively seeking choice funding. Elle Rathbun, a neuroscience doctoral โขcandidate, also saw a $160,000 NIH grant for stroke recovery research suspended, and emphasized theโค precariousness of research โขfunding.
While theโฃ injunction offers immediate relief,โ researchersโ like Garg acknowledge uncertainty remainsโ regarding the speed and permanence of the restored funding.โข The case โฃhas been closely followed by the UCLAโฃ research โcommunity as the situation enters itsโ second month.