President Donald Trump on Friday demanded a staggering $1 billion (Ksh.129 billion) fine from the University of California (UC) system, accusing UCLA of antisemitism in its handling of 2024 student protests linked to the Gaza conflict.
The administration claims the university failed to protect Jewish students during the demonstrations, which saw violent clashes between pro-Palestinian activists, counter-protesters, and police. Media reports say the White House is also seeking $172 million for a claims fund to compensate alleged victims of discrimination.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a UC board member, fiercely rejected the demand, calling it “extortion” and vowing to sue. “He has threatened us with a billion-dollar fine unless we do his bidding,” Newsom said, praising the UC system as central to California’s economic and scientific leadership.
UC officials warn that such a penalty would cripple the nation’s top public university network, which is already facing a federal freeze of more than half a billion dollars in UCLA research grants. Trump’s move mirrors a pressure campaign previously used on Columbia University, which agreed to restrictions on race-based admissions and hiring, and is reportedly being deployed against Harvard as well.
Pro-Palestinian encampments erupted on dozens of U.S. campuses in 2024, with police crackdowns and mob violence prompting then-president Joe Biden to insist that “order must prevail.” Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has intensified attacks on what his MAGA movement sees as liberal, elitist academia hostile to nationalist policies.
Newsom vowed California would not follow other institutions that yielded to similar White House demands, saying, “We will not be complicit in this attack on academic freedom or this extraordinary public institution.”
Written By Rodney Mbua
