On Tuesday, September 16, 2025, a broad coalition representing more than 100,000 University of California employees—including faculty, staff, student organizations, and labor unions—filed a sweeping lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging the federal government is abusing civil rights laws to curtail academic freedom, undermine free speech, and impose conservative ideology on one of the nation’s leading public university systems. The legal action, filed in federal court in San Francisco, comes in the wake of the Trump administration’s unprecedented $1.2 billion fine against UCLA and the freezing of critical research funding over accusations the university failed to adequately address antisemitism and other civil rights violations.
The lawsuit, spearheaded by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and represented by the legal advocacy group Democracy Forward, is supported by 21 unions and faculty associations. These groups, which include the UAW 4811 academic workers union, AFSCME 3299, and the California Nurses Association, argue that the administration’s actions amount to illegal “financial coercion” and constitutional violations targeting UC’s core values and mission. According to The Los Angeles Times, the suit claims the Trump administration is seeking to force “ideological dominance” over UC education, endangering jobs and threatening the university’s ability to serve California’s diverse population.
“We will not stand by as the Trump administration tries to destroy one of the largest public university higher education systems in the country and bludgeons academic freedom at the University of California, the heart of the revered free speech movement,” declared Todd Wolfson, president of the AAUP, in a statement quoted by The Los Angeles Times. The complaint argues that the government’s abrupt, unilateral, and allegedly unlawful termination of federal research funding is being used as a blunt tool to undermine higher education’s independence and the public interest it serves.
The lawsuit follows a series of escalating federal actions against UCLA and the broader UC system. In addition to the $1.2 billion fine, the Trump administration has frozen or paused federal funding to other elite institutions, including Harvard, Brown, and Columbia, over similar allegations. The Department of Justice has demanded sweeping changes at UCLA, including access to faculty, student, and staff data, the release of admissions and hiring records, the elimination of diversity scholarships, a ban on overnight demonstrations on university property, and cooperation with immigration enforcement. According to The Associated Press, these settlement demands are seen as an attempt to reshape university policy on hiring, admissions, sports, scholarships, diversity, and gender identity in line with the administration’s ideological preferences.
UC President James B. Milliken has sounded the alarm about the existential threat posed by these federal actions. “This represents one of the gravest threats to the University of California in our 157-year history,” Milliken wrote in a message to the UC community, as reported by The Associated Press. The university system receives more than $17 billion each year in federal support, including nearly $10 billion in Medicare and Medicaid funding, as well as substantial resources for research and student financial aid. Milliken noted that the current cuts are “minor in comparison to the threat that looms,” warning that further suspensions could extend far beyond UCLA to all 10 UC campuses and affiliated hospitals.
Frustration among UC employees has grown as university leaders have so far avoided direct legal confrontation with the Trump administration, opting instead for behind-the-scenes negotiations. “We’re doing this because the UC administration has not yet,” explained Anna Markowitz, president of the UCLA Faculty Association, to The Los Angeles Times. Markowitz emphasized that the goal is to strengthen the university’s position and encourage UC leadership to take a more assertive stance. “We certainly hope they join us in this suit because we understand they are under intense pressure from the federal government.”
The lawsuit alleges violations of free speech, due process rights, the 10th Amendment—which reserves powers not granted to the federal government for the states and the people—and the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs executive branch rule-making. The complaint details how faculty, Ph.D. students, librarians, and nurses across the UC system have faced grant cuts, budget reductions, layoffs, and what they describe as a curtailment of free speech rights as a result of the administration’s directives on race, diversity, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk has publicly stated that defunding medical research “does nothing” to address discrimination allegations. The university maintains policies that recognize different gender identities and provides services for LGBTQ+ communities, and it asserts that it does not use race in admissions. In response to the government’s proposed settlement, UCLA occupational therapist Ursula Quinn voiced concern, telling The Los Angeles Times, “Agreeing to it would be devastating for researchers, healthcare workers, and the whole UC community... We’re already understaffed and under-resourced. Surrendering this money to Trump would send a terrible moral signal to people who work here and could trickle down to impact patient care.”
As the legal battle unfolds, the stakes remain high. The Trump administration has used its control of federal funding to push for reforms at elite colleges, which the president has criticized as “overrun by liberalism and antisemitism.” This summer, Columbia University agreed to pay $200 million in a settlement to resolve federal allegations of antidiscrimination violations, with more than $400 million in research grants subsequently restored. The administration is reportedly using its deal with Columbia as a template for other universities, with financial penalties now seen as an expectation in similar cases.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has launched dozens of investigations targeting not only universities but also K-12 school districts, intensifying its scrutiny of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts that it claims discriminate against white and Asian American students. The UC lawsuit describes these federal actions as a “scheme of targeting, bullying, and unconstitutional actions” designed to impose a conservative ideological vision on education, healthcare, and research across California.
On the day the lawsuit was filed, dozens of union members and supporters rallied at UC San Francisco during the UC board of regents meeting, holding signs with slogans such as “Faculty say: Hands off our UC,” and “I don’t want to teach at Trump university.” The legal action also comes ahead of a pivotal hearing scheduled for Thursday, September 18, 2025, focusing on $500 million in National Institutes of Health grants to UCLA. Last month, U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin ordered the release of $81 million in frozen National Science Foundation grants to the university, providing a temporary reprieve but not resolving the broader conflict.
While UC leaders have not joined the lawsuit, they have expressed support for the broader effort to protect the university’s mission and funding. “Federal cuts to research funding threaten lifesaving biomedical research, hamper U.S. economic competitiveness and jeopardize the health of Americans who depend on the university’s cutting-edge medical science and innovation,” said Stett Holbrook, a spokesperson for the UC system, in a statement quoted by The Associated Press. The Department of Justice declined to comment on the lawsuit.
As the University of California faces what many see as a defining battle for its values and future, the outcome of this legal showdown could have far-reaching implications for academic freedom, research, and the broader landscape of public higher education in the United States.
