The Trump administration has frozen $175 million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania over the school’s inclusion of biological men in women’s sports, according to a White House tweet Wednesday morning.
“This is just a taste of what could be coming down the pipe for Penn,” one senior Trump administration official warned, according to Fox Business. The University of Pennsylvania, which reported around $1 billion last year from the federal government, is now at risk of losing all of its federal funding, the outlet reported.
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The university faced backlash in 2022 when it allowed swimmer Lia Thomas, a biological man, to compete on the women’s team and use women’s locker rooms. Thomas went on to win the NCAA championship in the women’s 500-yard freestyle and tie for fifth place in the 200-yard freestyle, alongside then-University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines.
More than a dozen female athletes, including Gaines, filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in 2024, arguing that the inclusion of biological men in women’s sports violates Title IX.
Three Penn swimmers who competed against Thomas also sued the university. One of the plaintiffs, Margot Kaczorowski, said she was “thrilled to see that there are finally people in positions of power willing to support and protect women.”
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“In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports,” the order reads. “This is demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.”
* Original Article:
Trump Admin Freezes $175 Million in Federal Funding to Penn Over Transgender Policies