President Donald Trump and his administration are now going after universities. White House officials wrote in an email to CBS Philadelphia that the $175 million funding cut is connected to Lia Thomas, a transgender woman and former Penn swimmer who made headlines and drew backlash when she competed for the women’s swimming team.
“UPenn infamously permitted a male to compete on its women’s swimming team, overturning multiple records hard-earned by women, and granting the fully intact male access to the locker room. This is NOT the result of the Title IX investigation launched by the Department of Education,” a senior White House official wrote in the email.
This marks the second time the administration has targeted an Ivy League university for funding cuts, following its decision earlier this month to freeze $400 million in grants and contracts to Columbia University.
According to The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, Columbia is nearing an agreement to meet the White House’s demands in order to restore the withheld federal funding. Trump warned that grants and contracts would be revoked unless the university complied with changes, including placing certain department decisions under external oversight.
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Trump’s funding threats extend beyond Columbia, signaling potential broader action against other institutions.
Apart from cutting federal funding to premier universities, Trump is also set to sign an executive order that will shut down the Department of Education. Trump will direct his education secretary, Linda McMahon, to take “all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States,” according to a White House summary of the order.
Lia Thomas NCAA swimming controversy
Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer from the University of Pennsylvania, gained significant attention and sparked controversy in 2022 after competing in NCAA women’s swimming events. After transitioning from male to female, she followed the NCAA’s policy, which requires athletes transitioning from male to female to undergo one year of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) before competing in women’s events.
Her victory in the 500-yard freestyle at the 2022 NCAA Championships was a major point of contention. Supporters argued that her participation in women’s sports was a step toward greater inclusivity for transgender athletes, while critics argued that her physical advantages, resulting from male puberty, might give her an unfair edge over cisgender female competitors. This sparked an ongoing debate around transgender athletes in competitive sports and fairness.