SACRAMENTO, California — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday blasted Donald Trump’s demand for $1 billion from UCLA over antisemitism allegations in return for millions of dollars in frozen federal research grants, describing the president’s move as an attempt to “silence academic freedom.”

The Trump administration has proposed the University of California pay more than $1 billion to settle antisemitism charges and restore frozen grant funding at UCLA. Newsom says the state will sue.

Making his first public comments about how the University of California should proceed in negotiations with President Trump over grant freezes, Gov. Gavin Newsom chided deals struck by Ivy Leagues and said the university would do 'the right thing.