Trump administration punishes UPenn over trans athlete policies
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - President Donald Trump's administration has halted millions of dollars in federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) due to the school's policies regarding transgender athletes.

On Wednesday, the White House announced in a post on X that the administration has "paused $175 million" in funds for the school due to "its policies forcing women to compete with men in sports."
The post included a clip from a Fox Business segment, in which reporter Hillary Vaughn explained the move was part of Trump's promise to "protect female athletes" and "rip federal funding" from schools that defy an executive order he recently signed that bans "biological males from infiltrating women's sports."
Vaughn reported that a senior administration official claimed "this is just a taste of what could be coming down the pipe for Penn," as the university is "still at risk" of losing all its federal funding.
She went on to specifically mention Lia Thomas, a transgender athlete who was allowed to participate in the school's women's swim team in 2021. Thomas no longer competes for UPenn.
In a statement to Politico, a spokesperson for UPenn said that while the school is aware of media reports on the issue, they have "not yet received any official notification or any details."
The spokesperson also noted that UPenn has "always followed NCAA and Ivy League policies regarding student participation on athletic teams."
Cover photo: IMAGO / Depositphotos