The lawsuit, filed by a coalition of unions and academic groups, alleges that the administration is using financial coercion to unlawfully control higher education and restrict free speech.
A broad coalition of students, faculty, and staff, along with labor unions representing workers across the University of California (UC) system, have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. The suit challenges the administration’s decision to freeze federal funding to the UC system, which plaintiffs claim is an unconstitutional attempt to exert ideological control over universities.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, comes in response to the administration’s actions against UCLA, which include the withholding of more than $500 million in federal research funds and a proposed settlement of $1.2 billion.
Federal agencies have accused UC campuses, particularly UCLA, of failing to adequately address antisemitism and continuing to engage in racial discrimination in admissions. However, the plaintiffs contend that the funding cuts are an effort to “infringe on the speech rights of faculty, academic and other staff, and students” and to force universities to conform to the president’s “worldview.”
The lawsuit, led by groups like the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and Democracy Forward, describes the administration’s actions as a “scheme of targeting, bullying, and unconstitutional actions.” Todd Wolfson, president of the AAUP, stated that the coalition “will not stand by as the Trump administration destroys one of the largest public university higher education systems in the country and bludgeons academic freedom.”
In a statement, the White House defended its actions, with assistant press secretary Liz Huston saying the lawsuit is a sign that federal funds are not being used responsibly. “This bunch of victimhood-seeking professors have been laughed out of court once already, but keep trying their failed arguments,” Huston said.
The University of California system itself is not a party to the lawsuit, but a spokesman noted that the system is engaged in its own “legal and advocacy efforts to restore and maintain funding for critical research.” The spokesman added that the federal cuts threaten “lifesaving biomedical research” and the U.S. economic competitiveness.
The lawsuit also alleges that the administration’s demands of UCLA include ending diversity scholarships, banning overnight demonstrations, and providing the government with access to student and staff data. These demands, according to the suit, are an attempt to “resegregate our universities” and suppress free speech. The lawsuit is the latest legal challenge to the administration’s policies on higher education, following similar actions and settlements with other universities like Harvard and Columbia.
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