Administration of Trump ordered to restore certain UCLA research grants as per judge's command
A federal judge in California, Rita Lin, has ordered the Trump administration to reinstate approximately 300 grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). This ruling comes in response to the Trump administration's suspension of around 800 grants, totaling $584 million, to UCLA in late July.
The court found that the suspension of UCLA grants was effectively the same as termination, as both actions halt funding and stop research, cutting staff and graduate student positions. Judge Lin also highlighted that the NSF failed to provide appropriate justifications according to federal administrative law.
The grants were initially suspended due to allegations against UCLA related to race discrimination in admissions and issues involving antisemitism and bias. However, the court found these explanations insufficient.
While NSF has complied with the order and restored the funding, other federal research funding from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Energy (DOE) to UCLA remains suspended as of August 2025.
The University of California and UCLA have emphasized the critical importance of restoring these funds for ongoing research benefiting the nation.
In a separate development, UCLA faces a fine of $1 billion from the Trump administration in response to its handling of pro-Palestinian encampments and protests on its campus last spring. This fine is a part of the resolution from the Justice Department's findings against UCLA, alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The current status is that NSF grants to UCLA that were suspended by the Trump administration have been restored by court order, but suspensions from other agencies remain unresolved. The rulings emphasize NSF's obligation to provide specific reasons when suspending or terminating grants and ensure due process under federal law.
Judge Lin suggests that there is no clear distinction between the Trump administration's decision to terminate a grant or to suspend a grant, as both actions cause a halt in research, cuts in staff and graduate student positions, and "critical work" will go unpublished.
The National News Desk reached out to UCLA for comment regarding the fine, but the university has not yet responded.
[1] Court Order Restoring NSF Grants to UCLA: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.333830/gov.uscourts.cand.333830.136.0.pdf [2] UCLA Grants Restored by Court Order: https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2021/08/10/ucla-grants-restored-court-order [3] Trump Administration Suspends Grants to UCLA: https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2021/07/30/trump-administration-suspends-grants-ucla [4] UCLA Stresses Importance of Restored Funding: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/08/11/ucla-officials-stress-importance-restored-funding [5] Other Federal Funding to UCLA Remains Suspended: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/08/ucla-grants-restored-court-order-but-other-federal-funding-remains-suspended
The current court ruling on the NSF grants suspension highlights the importance of policy-and-legislation and politics, as it underscores the NSF's obligation to provide specific reasons when suspending or terminating grants and ensure due process under federal law. News outlets have reported on this development as a significant turn in general-news, with the UCLA grants being restored, but other federal funding to UCLA remaining suspended.
