The Blubber

The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to revoke a significant portion of federal funding allocated to California, with action potentially starting as soon as Friday, according to multiple sources familiar with the plans.

Federal agencies have been directed to begin identifying grants that could be withheld from the state. Among the measures being considered is a complete cut of federal funding for both the University of California and California State University systems.

“No taxpayer should be forced to fund the demise of our country,” a White House spokesperson said in a Friday statement, citing disagreements with California’s policies on energy, immigration, and other matters. “No final decisions, however, on any potential future action by the Administration have been made, and any discussion suggesting otherwise should be considered pure speculation.”

Targeting a single state for sweeping funding cuts would mark a rare and aggressive move, but the administration has frequently taken aim at Democratic-led California. Just last month, the president threatened to pull federal funds over the participation of a transgender athlete in a sporting event. In previous months, the administration slashed over $120 million from flood mitigation projects and criticized the state's wildfire response. Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom have clashed publicly for years.

Sources say the current effort is driven in part by concerns over alleged antisemitism on California campuses—an issue the universities have been working to address. The administration has already moved to penalize other institutions, including Harvard and Columbia, for similar concerns.

The UC system is California’s third-largest employer and, along with CSU, a powerhouse for research across sectors such as biotechnology and medicine. It remains unclear how the schools will respond, though they may receive support from the state attorney general, Rob Bonta.

Officials from the UC and CSU systems, along with Bonta’s office, have been contacted for comment.

Representative Zoe Lofgren, the ranking Democrat on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, said: “Trump is a bully. We’ve now heard from sources that he may be intending to cut grants to California because we didn’t vote for him and we’re Democratically inclined. … I will fight back on this. This will be immediately challenged in court.” Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi also responded, saying: “Whatever cruel crusade the President may announce against California, we will fight back.”

California’s legislature had previously allocated $25 million in its budget to challenge Trump-era policies, though only about $5 million of that has been used so far.

Republican Representative Darrell Issa, also of California, said he hadn’t been informed of the planned funding cuts but acknowledged that university leaders had recently expressed concern about their financial futures.