'Fine for what'? Newsom doubles down on refusal to give in to Trump's UCLA demands [View all]

Source: Politico

08/27/2025 10:06 PM EDT


SACRAMENTO, California — Gov. Gavin Newsom forcefully doubled down Wednesday on his belief that California should not give into the Trump administration’s demand that UCLA pay $1 billion to restore hundreds of millions of dollars in frozen research funding.

Speaking at POLITICO’s “The California Agenda: Sacramento Summit,” Newsom said the UC Board of Regents, which has remained tight-lipped about whether it plans to negotiate with the administration or dig in for a fight, needs to “do the right thing” but understands that “they’re all scared.” “How could you possibly accept the fine?” an exasperated governor said, referring to the billion-dollar demand or some smaller amount the regents could negotiate. “Fine for what?”

With Trump alleging UCLA has fostered a campus atmosphere hostile to Jewish students and faculty, Newsom hailed efforts by state institutions to combat antisemitism. He expressed dismay that the state could pay to settle with “the guy who had dinner with Nick Fuentes telling us about antisemitism” — a reference to a far-right activist who Trump hosted at Mar-a-Lago in 2022. “Are you kidding me?”

The governor, who previously described the settlement proposal as “extortion” and threatened to sue over it, said the matter is bigger than just UCLA. It is about “anybody or any institution that disagrees with them,” he said.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/27/newsom-trump-ucla-demands-00532974