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.”
Newsweek reached out to the University of Pennsylvania and the Department of Education but did not hear back.
Lee Barney ✉
Lee Barney, Newsmax’s financial editor, has been a financial journalist for 30 years, covering the economy, retirement planning, investing and financial technology.
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