The Trump administration is withholding $175 million in federal funding from the University of Pennsylvania for allowing trans women to compete in women's sports, Newsweek reports.
“Promises made, promises kept,” wrote Trump's White House communications team on X.
The funds are discretionary money from the Department of Defense and the Department of Health and Human Services.
A senior official in the administration said this is “just a taste” of further monetary action against Penn over its policies.
The university is “still at risk of losing all its federal funding” due to the Title IX investigation into Penn allowing trans swimmer Lia Thomas to compete on the women's team and use facilities for women athletes, such as the locker room, the official said.
During his campaign, President Trump pledged to stop trans women from competing in women's sports.
True to that promise, on Feb. 5, Trump signed an executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports.”
“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.”
As legal backing, the order cited Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972. The bill gives women the right to an equal opportunity to participate in sports at any educational institution that receives federal funding.
“Therefore, it is the policy of the United States 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,” the order continues.
“It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women's sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”
A Penn spokesperson said the school had not received any notification or details of the action.
“It is important to note, however, that Penn has always followed NCAA and Ivy League policies regarding student participation on athletic teams,” spokesperson Ron Ozio said. “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.”
The investigation opened by the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights at Penn focuses on Thomas, who swam on the school’s women’s team and was the first openly transgender athlete to win a Division I title in 2022.
The agency also opened reviews of San Jose State University volleyball and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association.
With reporting by the Associated Press