The Trump administration has paused $175 million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania, the president’s alma mater, claiming it has violated an executive order barring transgender women from competing in women’s sports, a White House official told CNN.
In a post on X, the Trump administration’s Rapid Response team noted the funding had been paused, while posting a Fox Business segment, and writing, “Promises made, promises kept.” Fox Business first reported the funding pause.
The administration’s executive order states that all executive departments and agencies “shall review grants to educational programs and, where appropriate, rescind funding to programs that fail to comply with the policy established in this order.”
The funding paused at the University of Pennsylvania was not the result of a Title IX investigation launched by the Department of Education, a senior White House official told CNN.
The official described the move as “immediate proactive action to review discretionary funding streams” to universities the Department of Education has identified for its investigation, which includes the University of Pennsylvania, San Jose State University and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association.
The pause of about $175 million in funding was from the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services, the senior official added.
President Donald Trump earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Finance in 1968, after transferring from Fordham University,
UPenn response: The University of Pennsylvania said in a statement that it has “not yet received any official notification or any details” about paused federal funding.
“It is important to note, however, that Penn 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,” according to a spokesperson.
This post has been updated with additional reporting.