December 28, 2025— Politico’s Eric He examines how UCLA remains stuck in limbo as the Trump administration’s funding fight drags on with no clear resolution in sight, speaking with deputy director of higher education and senior staff attorney Jetaun Stevens about why university leadership may be taking a more cautious approach than the faculty members who are mounting their own legal defense.

The crisis began when the Trump administration cut $584 million in research grants over antisemitism accusations related to Gaza protests, then demanded UCLA pay $1 billion in fines, $200 million in legal payouts, and implement sweeping reforms—far exceeding penalties imposed on schools like Columbia, which settled for $220 million. While other universities either negotiated deals or mounted vigorous legal defenses like Harvard, UC leadership has remained largely silent, conducting closed-door regent meetings while faculty independently filed two lawsuits that have won preliminary injunctions restoring the funding.

Stevens told Politico the injunctions give UC “breathing room and leverage in negotiations,” but questioned whether joining the lawsuits “would heighten tensions in a way that could make the UC more vulnerable than it already is.”

The university faces intense political pressure from Governor Newsom and state lawmakers who oppose any settlement, with some legislators warning UC not to seek state help if they cut a deal with the administration. Faculty members, meanwhile, have criticized what they see as increasingly centralized leadership that has refused to join their fight, forcing them to defend the university’s academic freedom on their own

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