Trump Cuts $175 Million In Federal Funding To Penn Over Trans Athletes
The administration’s decision has sparked protests from UPenn students and faculty, who are demanding action from the university.
On Wednesday, March 19, the Trump administration continued its violent plan to strip the rights of transgender people and punish those who support their existence, announcing it is pausing $175 million of federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania over the school’s policies on transgender athletes.
Penn has become the first example of an institution that is being punished for allowing a trans woman to compete in women’s sports.
‘Rapid Response 47,’ a social media account made by Trump’s White House to hold “fake news” accountable, posted to X, “BREAKING: The Trump Administration has ‘paused $175 million in federal funding from the University of Pennsylvania’ over its policies forcing women to compete with men in sports. Promises made, promises kept.”
The account shared a Fox News clip about Penn, in which a contributor makes a disgusting transphobic remark about Lia Thomas, a former Penn swimmer who faced backlash for being the first openly transgender athlete to win a Division 1 Championship in 2022. “The University is still at risk of losing all its federal funding, as a result of the ongoing Title IX investigations looking into Penn for allowing transgender athlete and biological male Lia Thomas to compete on the women’s swim team, use women’s locker rooms while exposing his male genitalia to his fellow female athletes.”
This pause in funding follows after the signing of, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” an executive order that seeks to strip transgender athletes from sports.
According to Penn’s Office of Communications, the university was not notified of the funding freeze until Rapid Response 47’s social media post.
“We are aware of media reports suggesting a suspension of $175 million in federal funding to Penn, but have not yet received any official notification or any details,” the office told POLITICO. “It is important to note, however, that Penn has always followed NCAA and Ivy League policies regarding student participation on athletic teams. We have been in the past, and remain today, in full compliance with the regulations that apply to not only Penn, but all of our NCAA and Ivy League peer institutions.”
Since this decision, Penn students, faculty, and staff have protested the cut and demanded action from the university. The funding freeze is one of many threats to academic freedom, and one step closer to excluding transgender people from all forms of life. To put Lia Thomas at the center of this freeze is a manipulative tactic to provoke only more hate.
