White House Plans to Pause $175 Million for Penn Over Transgender Policy

[highplainsdem]

Source: NY Times

The Trump administration said Wednesday it would suspend about $175 million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania over its approach to transgender athletes, according to a White House social media account that trumpeted the pause. The move would intensify the government’s campaign against transgender people’s participation in public life and escalate a clash with elite colleges.

The White House’s rapid response account on X said the decision was based on Penn’s “policies forcing women to compete with men in sports.” A person familiar with the decision, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the administration had not formally announced the pause, confirmed the suspension and cited Penn’s past embrace of Lia Thomas, a transgender woman, as a member of its women’s swim team.

In a statement, Penn said it was “aware of media reports suggesting a suspension of $175 million in federal funding to Penn” but that it had not “received any official notification or any details” from the government. The university added that it had been, and remained, “in full compliance with the regulations that apply to not only Penn, but all of our N.C.A.A. and Ivy League peer institutions.”

Penn, President Trump’s alma mater, is the second Ivy League university in two weeks to be so explicitly targeted by the administration. The administration announced on March 7 that it was pausing about $400 million in contracts and grants involving Columbia University. Last week, U.S. officials sent Columbia a list of demands that they said needed to be met before negotiations about the canceled funding could begin.

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Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/us/politics/trump-to-pause-175-million-for-university-of-pennsylvania-over-transgender-policy.html

[MichMan]

1. The government set a precedent with Hillsdale College in the late 70's

Hillsdale refused to submit Title IX compliance data because they said since they received no federal funding of any kind they weren't required to do so. The Federal government didn't back down and said in that case, no student attending could receive any Federal student aid, grants or loans. Hillsdale told them they would fund it themselves, which has continued to this day.

I suppose they could take the same approach if they wanted

[Du916]

2. Penn should release Trump's academic records.

He’s a genius and undoubtedly was admitted to Wharton on his merits alone, and not because he was a member of the lucky sperm club. He also. had to have been a brilliant student (sarcasm off). Penn should release Ivanka’s records too.