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By Hannah Parry and Sonam Sheth
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The Trump administration is seeking a $1 billion settlement from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) after a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation found it had violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, multiple media outlets reported.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump's administration has cracked down on pro-Palestinian campus protests across the country since he returned to office in January. Much of the crackdown has involved withholding or freezing hundreds of millions in federal funds for schools that the administration accuses of not doing enough to protect against antisemitism on campus.
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UCLA was a site of widespread protests last year against the Israeli government's military actions against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The university's response to the demonstrations was sharply criticized, particularly after counter-protesters attacked the pro-Palestinian encampment. The clash devolved into violence and more than a dozen people were injured before law enforcement intervened.
More than 200 people were arrested the next day after defying orders to disperse.
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What To Know
The Trump administration's proposed agreement, which was obtained by CNN, would install a resolution monitor to oversee the school and a senior administrator who would ensure UCLA is complying with anti-discrimination laws.
It would also bar overnight demonstrations, call on UCLA to revise school policies related to protests and require the university to end race- and ethnicity-based scholarships, per CNN.
The government's proposal makes additional demands related to the administration's rollback of transgender rights, which Trump and his allies say they're doing to protect women. CNN reported that the proposal would ensure single-sex housing for women on campus and require UCLA's hospital and medical school to stop providing gender-affirming care.
Friday's development comes after Attorney General Pam Bondi announced last month that she would "force UCLA to pay a heavy price for putting Jewish Americans at risk and continue our ongoing investigations into other campuses in the UC system."
The administration began freezing about $584 million in funding and grants to the college last week.
Later Friday, James B. Milliken, the University of California's president, said the university had received a document from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and would review it.
He added that the size of the proposed settlement would "devastate" the University of California, whose campuses are viewed as some of the top public colleges in the nation.
What People Are Saying
Milliken, who started as president last week, said Friday: "Earlier this week, we offered to engage in good faith dialogue with the Department to protect the University and its critical research mission. 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."
Chancellor Julio Frenk said Wednesday after the administration began freezing UCLA's funds: "If these funds remain suspended, it will be devastating for UCLA and for Americans across the nation."
California Governor Gavin Newsom torched the Trump administration over the proposed settlement, telling reporters: "He has threatened us through extortion with a billion-dollar fine unless we do his bidding. We will not be like some of those other institutions that have followed a different path."
What Happens Next
It's not yet clear whether UCLA will agree to the Trump administration's proposed settlement.
The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.
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