The Trump administration has taken significant action by freezing $175 million in taxpayer funding for the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) after the institution continued to allow transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports, defying a key executive order from the president.
The move has sparked a fresh round of debate over the participation of transgender athletes in female sports categories.
The $175 million accounts for nearly one-fifth of UPenn’s total federal funding for the year, which primarily comes from the Department of Defense and the Department of Health and Human Services.
These federal payments, according to FOX Business, reflect the significant financial relationship between the Ivy League university and the federal government.
The White House took to social media on Wednesday, March 19, to announce the decision, with the post saying, “Promises made, promises kept.”
The funding freeze is part of a larger investigation by the Trump administration into potential violations of Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education, including athletics.
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The controversy surrounding transgender athletes in women’s sports has escalated, especially after UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas, who transitioned from male to female, won the NCAA Division I women’s 500-yard freestyle in 2022.
Thomas’ victory sparked backlash, particularly from opponents like swimmer Riley Gaines, who tied with Thomas in another race and has since become a vocal critic of transgender women competing in women’s sports.
Riley Gaines, now a leading opponent of the policy, posted on social media in response to the funding freeze: “Three years ago to the day I raced and tied a man at the DI NCAA Championships.
Today, the Trump administration paused $175M in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania for this reason. Serendipitous.”
The funding freeze comes amid a broader probe into possible Title IX violations by other institutions, including San Jose State University, which allowed a transgender volleyball player to compete on its women’s team.
The administration’s actions also extend to universities in Maine, which could lose up to $250 million in annual federal funding due to their own transgender sports policies.
