In this episode of Passing Judgment, Jessica Levinson unpacks a significant federal court decision blocking the Trump administration from withholding or conditioning federal funds to UCLA in exchange for major campus policy changes. The discussion covers the court's reasoning under the Administrative Procedures Act, the First and 10th Amendments, and why the judge deemed the administration’s actions coercive. Join us for a breakdown of this breaking legal news and its broader implications for university autonomy.
Here are three key takeaways from the episode:
Federal Funding Leverage Challenged: A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Trump administration from freezing, terminating, or conditioning UC research funds—pointing out that the administration’s approach may violate legal requirements, including the Administrative Procedures Act, the First Amendment, and the Tenth Amendment.
Academic Freedom & Speech Protected: The court found that forcing changes to speech policies, DEI efforts, gender healthcare, protest rules, and admissions could unlawfully coerce universities and chill free speech, especially among public university faculty and students.
States’ Rights and Spending Clause Limits: The judge ruled that federal conditions on funding can’t be so extreme they essentially take away states’ ability to decide their own policies—a “gun to the head” tactic that threatens economic stability and state sovereignty.
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