The co-chairs of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, including state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-S.F.), are backing Gov. Gavin Newsom in a billion-dollar battle tied to the Trump administration’s crackdown on antisemitism at UCLA.
The federal government is seeking a $1 billion settlement with the University of California system in order to restore nearly $600 million in UCLA research funding. The Trump administration recently froze the research money, citing an inadequate response to antisemitism on campus. The proposed settlement, which became public Friday, immediately faced clapback, including from Wiener who called it “repulsive.”
James Milliken, president of the 10-campus University of California system, said in a statement that a $1 billion payout would “devastate” the university system, not just UCLA, and “inflict great harm on our students and all Californians.”
Newsom, widely considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate, lambasted the Trump administration’s proposal and won the backing of the co-chairs of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, a group of 18 state legislators who are either Jewish or support the causes of their Jewish allies.
“This isn’t about protecting Jewish students — it’s a billion-dollar political shakedown,” read a statement co-signed by Newsom and six other Democratic state leaders, including Wiener and Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino). Wiener and Gabriel co-chair the Jewish caucus.
“As Jewish leaders and strong allies, we are united against Trump’s assault and will fight like hell because California will not bow to this kind of disgusting political extortion,” the statement read.
Wiener issued a separate statement, as well, acknowledging that there are “serious antisemitism issues” at UCLA. Wiener said he has personally worked alongside the University of California to address those problems and noted that progress has been made.
“Revoking science research funding in the name of the Jews is utterly repulsive. In doing all this, Trump is making Jews less safe, and he’s making it harder for us to fight actual antisemitism,” Wiener said in his statement.
Like many campuses across the country, UCLA was rocked by pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protests during the 2023-2024 school year that peaked during the spring semester. UCLA faced intense criticism after some Jewish students reported that protesters blocked them from parts of campus, including classroom buildings and the main library.
A Justice Department investigation found UCLA received 11 complaints from students who alleged discrimination due to their Jewish or Israeli identity between April 25 and May 1, 2024, while the pro-Palestinian tent encampment was standing. A federal judge wrote in a ruling later that year that Jewish students were “excluded from portions of the UCLA campus because they refused to denounce their faith.” The judge called it “abhorrent.”
On July 29, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division concluded an investigation, which found that UCLA acted “with deliberate indifference in creating a hostile educational environment for Jewish and Israeli students.”
Opponents of the Trump administration’s decision to freeze research grants as its response said that UCLA has taken concerted steps to address antisemitism since 2024 and that President Donald Trump is unfairly targeting institutions that he considers too liberal.
Last month, UCLA reached a $6 million settlement with three Jewish students and a Jewish professor who sued the university over alleged civil rights violations during pro-Palestinian protests in 2024.
Newsom said the state will file a lawsuit to counter the proposed settlement and hinted at disapproval of Columbia University’s and Brown University’s decisions to pay millions of dollars to the federal government to settle claims.
“We are not like some of those other institutions that have followed a different path,” Newsom said.
Wiener concurred.
“I’m confident UCLA will not enter into such an agreement,” Wiener said, “since doing so would violate California law, would violate our state’s core values and would be straight up morally unacceptable.”
In addition to the proposed $1 billion, the New York Times reported, the Trump administration wants the UC system to contribute an additional $172 million to a claims fund as compensation to victims of civil rights violations. It also wants UCLA to eliminate scholarships related to race or ethnicity and to scrap diversity statements in hiring.