The Trump administration confirmed Wednesday it plans to pause $175 million in federal funding from the University of Pennsylvania over its policies regarding trans students’ participation in sports.

The White House rapid response account on X shared a video from Fox Business announcing the administration’s latest retaliatory move against institutions practicing inclusivity to marginalized groups.

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Penn became the center of national controversy in 2022 over the participation of trans competitor Lia Thomas on its women’s swim team. The university staunchly stood by Thomas in the face of horrific backlash (which also led to the rise of right-wing activity Riley Gaines, who tied for fifth place with Thomas at a swim meet).

The Fox Business segment announcing the retaliatory move said Penn risks losing even more funding based on the pending Title IX investigation regarding the university’s support of Thomas.

A Penn spokesperson told Newsweek that the school “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,” they continued. They also said that they have only heard about the funding freeze through the media and have “not yet received any official notification or any details.”

The NCAA has already bowed to the administration in response to  Trump’s executive order seeking to ban trans female athletes from all school sports. In February, the organization voted to ban all transgender women from competing in women’s college sports. In December, NCAA President Charlie Baker told a Senate committee he was aware of fewer than 10 transgender athletes among more than 500,000 student-athletes who compete in NCAA championship sports.

Reporting by the Associated Press in 2021 revealed that dozens of lawmakers who sponsored legislation to restrict trans athletes’ participation in school sports couldn’t cite a single example in their own state where trans athletes had caused problems. 

The administration has made it clear it will follow through on its threats to pull funding from institutions that do not bend to its bigoted orders. As part of its war on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), officials have been sending letters to individual organizations and universities demanding they get rid of their programs that promote inclusivity.

Earlier this month, a note sent to Georgetown Law Center by interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Ed Martin, declared it “unacceptable” that the school “continues to teach and promote DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion].” Martin demanded the school eliminate “all DEI” from its curriculum and asked, “If DEI is found in your courses or teaching in any way, will you move swiftly to remove it?”

Martin then issued a direct threat: “No applicant for our fellows program, our summer internship, or employment in our office who is a student or affiliated with a law school or university that continues to teach and utilize DEI will be considered.”

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