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President Donald Trump on Friday demanded a staggering $1 billion fine from the University of California system, citing alleged antisemitism in UCLA’s handling of 2024 student protests linked to Gaza.
The demand, five times larger than the settlement Columbia University agreed to in a similar federal antisemitism case, has been described by a senior UC official as potentially devastating for the public university system.
University of California President James Milliken confirmed the receipt of the demand and said the university leadership was reviewing the claim carefully.
“As a public university, we are stewards of taxpayer resources, and a payment of this magnitude would severely harm the nation’s leading public university system, as well as negatively impact our students and all Californians,” Milliken said.
He highlighted the vital contributions of UCLA and the UC system to technology, medical research, the economy, and national security.
Reports indicate the government is seeking payment in instalments and also demands an additional $172 million be paid into a claims fund for Jewish students and others who suffered from alleged discrimination.
The UC system, home to some of the highest-ranked public universities in the United States, is already contending with a freeze of over $500 million in medical and scientific grants at UCLA imposed by the Trump administration.
This latest move appears to mirror a strategy used previously against Columbia University and is reportedly aimed at pressuring Harvard University into similar concessions.
Columbia’s settlement includes commitments to avoid considering race in admissions and hiring decisions, among other requirements.
Pro-Palestinian protests across numerous US campuses in 2024 sparked police crackdowns and violence, from Columbia to UCLA, with then-President Joe Biden insisting that “order must prevail.”
Since his return to office, Trump and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement have frequently targeted universities, viewing them as elitist, overly liberal, and antagonistic to the ethno-nationalist ideals favoured by his supporters.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a frequent Trump critic and UC board member, urged the university system not to yield to the president’s demands.
“There’s right and wrong, and we will do the right thing,” Newsom told reporters. “This is about our competitiveness, the future of this country, and our sovereignty. It’s much bigger than the temperament of one aggrieved individual who happens to be president.”
Newsom vowed to “do everything in my power” to prevent UC from “becoming another institution that takes the easy wrong versus the hard right.”
