Judge Restores $584 Million in UCLA Research Grants
8/29/2025 | 2mVideo has Closed Captions
A judge orders suspended UCLA science grants restored as $584M freeze eases.
A federal judge directed the government to restore suspended UCLA research grants after about 800 NSF and NIH awards were frozen, halting $584 million. As of August 13, NSF says the grants are reinstated. The dispute followed a DOJ report tied to campus protests and raised questions over suspensions versus terminations.
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SoCal Matters is a local public television program presented by PBS SoCal
Judge Restores $584 Million in UCLA Research Grants
8/29/2025 | 2mVideo has Closed Captions
A federal judge directed the government to restore suspended UCLA research grants after about 800 NSF and NIH awards were frozen, halting $584 million. As of August 13, NSF says the grants are reinstated. The dispute followed a DOJ report tied to campus protests and raised questions over suspensions versus terminations.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipCalifornia District Court Judge Rita F. Lin ordered the Trump administration to restore some of the 800 federal science research grants that it suspended at UCLA last month, delivering a major setback to efforts to force the university into a $1 billion settlement.
The 800 grant suspensions followed a federal Department of Justice report in July that accused the campus of not doing enough to address antisemitism, particularly related to events during last year's pro-Palestine protests.
Lawyers for the federal government contended that suspending the UCLA grants didn't violate Lin's June order, which barred terminations but was silent on suspensions.
Lawyers for the University of California researcher said there's no difference between suspensions and terminations, because both mean researchers lose access to funding.
Some federal judges have faulted the Trump administration for never defining what it considers DEI, but canceling funding to schools based on those violations anyway.
Lin's order to restore the suspended grants came in response to a court filing lawyers for UC researchers submitted after 300 National Science Foundation grants and 500 National Institutes of Health grants at UCLA were suspended in July.
The suspensions froze $584 million in grant funding.
As of August 13th, the National Science Foundation reports that all grants have since been reinstated and restored.
The state's attorney general has already filed 39 lawsuits against the Trump administration, including several tied to education funding.
Governor Gavin Newsom said-- -We'll sue.
This is a separate topic, but he has threatened us through extortion with a billion dollar fine unless we do his bidding.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded during a press conference.
Bring it on, Gavin.
This administration is well within its legal right to do this and we want to ensure that our colleges and our universities are respecting the First Amendment rights and the religious liberties of students on their campuses.
-For CalMatters, I'm Mikhail Zinshteyn.
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SoCal Matters is a local public television program presented by PBS SoCal