UC leadership is negotiating with the Justice Department after federal officials cut over half a billion dollars in UCLA research grants and demanded a $1-billion fine related to antisemitism. Negotiations involve 10 of 24 regents, including the chair and UC president, and followed an emergency convening and an initial public meeting. Gov. Gavin Newsom has publicly threatened legal action, labeled the federal demands extortion, and retains ex-officio influence on the regents. The Justice Department set a Sept. 2 deadline and said it may sue if there is not reasonable certainty of agreement. Observers warn the stakes and political pressure are very high.
Top UC leaders will attempt to negotiate a settlement with the federal government and have identified guardrails to protect the nation's premier public university system after the Trump administration cut more than half a billion dollars in UCLA research grants and demanded a $1-billion fine to atone for antisemitism, according to high-placed UC officials. The talks with the Justice Department are just beginning and so far involve 10 of the 24 UC regents, including chair Janet Reilly and UC President James B. Milliken. The group held its first publicly announced meeting last week after an emergency convening of all regents Aug. 11.
The negotiations come amid a volatile political backdrop as Gov. Gavin Newsom takes on President Trump in a high-stakes redistricting fight over congressional control and unleashes an audacious social media strategy of Trump-directed insults. In response to actions against UCLA, Newsom publicly announced "we'll sue" - and called the demands "extortion" and "ransom," saying California will not "bend the knee" to Trump.
The Justice Department last month set a Sept. 2 deadline, saying it is also ready to sue if there is not "reasonable certainty" that the sides can reach an agreement. The department did not respond to inquiries from The Times about the status of its suit. "The political pressure and stakes are huge for UC's board of regents, a new UC-wide president, the campus chancellors and faculty leaders - and the state of California," said John Aubrey Douglass of the UC Berkeley Center for Studies in Higher Education, who has written extensively on UC history and politics. "Anything could happen."
#university-of-california #justice-department-negotiations #ucla-research-funding #gavin-newsom #antisemitism
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