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The Trump administration paused $175 million in federal funding to the University on March 19. Credit: Anna Vazhaeparambil

1968 Wharton graduate and President Donald Trump’s administration announced that it would be freezing over $175 million in federal funding to Penn on March 19, citing the University’s failure to bar transgender athletes from women's sports. 

According to a White House tweet, Wednesday’s decision is a result of Penn’s “policies forcing women to compete with men in sports.” The funding pause follows a Feb. 5 executive order signed by Trump that threatened to remove federal funding from universities that allow the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports.

“This is just a taste of what could be coming down the pipe for Penn,” one senior Trump administration official told Fox News.

In a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian, a senior White House official wrote that the funding freeze was not a result of an ongoing Title IX investigation into Penn but rather “[an] immediate proactive action to review discretionary funding streams to … universities.”

The official said that the decision to cut funding was made because Penn “infamously permitted a male to compete on its women’s swimming team.” They added that the cuts would be made to federal funding that Penn receives from the Department of Defense and the Department of Health and Human Services.

A Penn spokesperson wrote in a statement to the DP that while the University is “aware of media reports suggesting a suspension of $175 million in federal funding,” the federal government has yet to share “any official notification or any details” about the recent action.

The statement added that Penn has “always followed NCAA and Ivy League policies” and does not have its own policy “regarding student participation on athletic teams.” It also highlighted that “NCAA policies have evolved over the years” and pointed to policy revisions made by the NCAA and Ivy League in response to Trump’s February executive order.

“Indeed, we have been in the past, and remain today, in full compliance with all the regulations that apply not only to Penn, but all of our NCAA and Ivy League peer institutions,” the spokesperson wrote.

A DOD spokesperson directed a request for comment to the White House, and a request for comment was left with HHS.

In a statement to the DP, Philadelphia City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier — who represents Philadelphia’s third district, which includes Penn — called the federal funding freeze “deplorable” and said that the Trump administration was “threatening tens of thousands of jobs, our hospitals, lifesaving research projects … and so much more” by targeting funds unrelated to transgender student-athletes.

“More than anything, Trump’s attack is meant to divide us -- we cannot let him succeed. Penn has an opportunity to stand up for their vulnerable students by taking Trump to court. We have already seen that lawsuits successfully counter Trump’s hateful, cruel, and legally questionable actions,” she wrote. “I urge Penn to do the right thing by standing tall and fighting back.”

Gauthier added that if Penn does not take legal action against the funding freeze, it should use funds from its endowment to prevent layoffs or service reductions.

“I am proud that many transgender individuals call West and Southwest Philadelphia home,” she wrote. “They make our community stronger and a better place to live. I will always stand with them.”

2013 Engineering graduate and Pennsylvania state Rep. Rick Krajewski (D-Philadelphia) wrote in a statement to the DP that Trump’s decision to freeze Penn’s funding was “yet another abuse of his executive power in service to his authoritarian agenda.” Krajewski added that he was “proud of [his] alma mater for protecting the rights of its trans athletes” and urged the University “to resist this bullying attempt.”

Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania Witold Walczak also criticized the move from the White House, calling it “another example of this administration’s punitive and discriminatory policies targeting the trans community and cynically going after the most vulnerable Americans.”

“The ACLU of Pennsylvania will continue to fight for the rights of trans people to be their full, authentic selves,” Walczak added.

Riley Gaines, an activist and former University of Kentucky swimmer, called the news “serendipitous” in a statement on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Three years ago, Gaines tied with Thomas in the 200-yard freestyle at the 2022 NCAA championships and subsequently built a career campaigning against transgender women’s participation in women’s sports.

In a separate statement on X, 2022 Engineering graduate and former Penn women’s swimmer Paula Scanlan — who has also built a platform speaking out against Thomas’ participation in Penn athletics — wrote, “This is what I voted for. More of this.”

On Feb. 5, Trump signed an executive order explicitly barring transgender women from participating in women’s sports. The executive order promised to “rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy.”

On Feb. 6, the United States Department of Education launched an investigation into Penn for Title IX violations for allowing 2022 College graduate and transgender woman Lia Thomas to represent Penn women’s swimming and diving during the 2021-22 NCAA swimming and diving season. Shortly after, the NCAA changed its policy to align with the order.

Three former Penn women’s swimmers who competed with Thomas during that season also filed a separate lawsuit for Title IX violations. 

As part of the Penn women’s swimming and diving team, Thomas collected multiple still-standing program records, Ivy League titles, and an NCAA championship. The DOE notably sent a letter to NCAA President Charlie Baker urging Thomas’ accolades be reallocated. 

Since the start of his second term, Trump has instituted a flurry of executive orders and federal actions impacting higher education institutions across the country — including Penn. The National Institutes of Health implemented a funding cut on Feb. 7 that could cost Penn $240 million.

Trump will be in Philadelphia this weekend to attend the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships — co-hosted by Penn, Drexel University, and PHL Sports — at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect that Paula Scanlan is a 2022 Engineering graduate. A previous version of this story identified her as a 2022 College graduate. The DP regrets the error.