A federal court order shielding the University of California (UC) system — including the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) — from a proposed $1.2 billion federal settlement will remain in place after the Trump administration abandoned its appeal.
In a filing with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. Department of Justice moved to dismiss its challenge to a November ruling by U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin of the Northern District of California. That earlier decision had blocked the administration’s effort to require UCLA to pay $1 billion in fines and $172 million into a claims fund over alleged civil rights violations.
The administration had frozen $584 million in federal research funding to UCLA in late July, asserting that the university violated federal law by using race in admissions, recognizing transgender identities and failing to adequately address antisemitism complaints. UCLA has denied those allegations and said it follows the law.
According to reporting by the Los Angeles Times and the Daily Bruin, the proposed settlement would have required sweeping policy changes at UCLA and, by extension, the broader UC system. Among the demands were a ban on diversity-related scholarships, restrictions on foreign student enrollment, limits on gender-affirming healthcare and expanded sharing of personnel data with the federal government.
The underlying lawsuit was brought not by the university itself but by UC faculty groups and unions, including the American Association of University Professors, who sought a preliminary injunction to halt the funding freeze and settlement demands. Judge Lin temporarily restored most of the frozen grants in August and September before issuing a broader preliminary injunction in November blocking the fine and preventing further funding suspensions tied to the dispute.
As part of the agreement to drop the appeal, the administration and plaintiffs jointly requested modifications to the injunction. In a Feb. 13 order, Lin approved changes clarifying that the federal government may pursue voluntary resolutions of civil rights investigations so long as it complies with required procedures under Title VI, Title IX and the Administrative Procedure Act.
The modified injunction also states that federal officials may not “coerce the UC to agree to any of the terms” of the August settlement offer by violating the First or Tenth Amendments when awarding or withholding federal funds. The order further vacates and stays the July 30 suspensions of National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and Department of Energy grants to UCLA researchers, and bars similar blanket terminations.
UC Irvine law professor Veena Dubal, general counsel for the plaintiff American Assn. of University Professors, welcomed the development. “The Trump administration’s decision to not appeal this preliminary injunction means that for the foreseeable future, they cannot use civil rights laws or federal funding as a cudgel to remake the UC in its ideological image,” Dubal said.
In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, UC spokeswoman Rachel Zaentz said the university “remains focused on our vital work to drive innovation, advance medical breakthroughs and strengthen the nation’s long-term competitiveness.” She added that UC “remains committed to protecting the mission, governance and academic freedom of the university.”
Although the appeal has been withdrawn, the broader lawsuit continues in federal district court and remains in discovery. The administration has also maintained investigations into the UC system and other universities, signaling that its campaign to reshape higher education policy is ongoing.
