The proposed settlement is the highest yet, as Trump continues pressure universities to submit to wide-ranging demands.The administration of United States President Donald Trump has requested that the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), submit to a $1bn settlement to resolve accusations stemming from the school’s handling of pro-Palestine protests.A White House official and the University of California system both confirmed the proposed settlement to news agencies on Friday.The settlement proposal is notable for the massive sum requested, as the Trump administration seeks to pressure top schools into compliance with its policies.The $1bn price tag would far exceed the payouts inked in previous agreements reached with Columbia University and Brown University last month. Columbia agreed to pay a fine of about $221m, and Brown confirmed it would pay $50m to a state workforce development programme.“The University of California just received a document from the Department of Justice and is reviewing it,” University of California President James Milliken said in a statement.He added that the institution had offered to have talks with the government earlier this week.UCLA, which boasts the largest student body in the University of California system, had also announced this week that the Trump administration suspended $584m in federal grants to the school.The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division explained that the funding would be frozen as a result of civil rights violations connected to pro-Palestinian protests since 2023. The school had acted “with deliberate indifference in creating a hostile educational environ …
