Karoline Leavitt Lays Down the Gauntlet over Gavin Newsom’s Latest Threats [WATCH]

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday responded to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s threat to sue the Trump administration over a proposed settlement with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), urging him to follow through on his statements.

The dispute stems from the Department of Justice’s proposal that UCLA pay $1 billion to settle allegations of antisemitism on campus.

The proposal also calls for the university to contribute $172 million to a claims fund for victims of civil rights violations, in exchange for the restoration of $584 million in federal research funding.

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At a White House press briefing, Leavitt defended the legality of the settlement proposal.

“Bring it on, Gavin,” she said.

“This administration is well within its legal right to do this and we want to ensure that our colleges and our universities are respecting the First Amendment rights and the religious liberties of students on their campuses, and UCLA has failed to do that. And I have a whole list of examples that I will forward to Gavin Newsom’s press office if he hasn’t seen them himself.”

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The DOJ proposal follows a series of high-profile incidents at UCLA in 2023, including anti-Israel demonstrations in which campus protesters allegedly set up a “Jew Exclusion Zone” requiring students to denounce Israel to enter certain areas.

Reports indicated that some university administrators privately expressed support for the protests and discussed rewarding participants.

On July 29, UCLA reached a $6.5 million settlement in a separate discrimination lawsuit brought by students and a professor over the “Jew Exclusion Zone.”

Under that agreement, the university committed to donating $2.33 million to its own antisemitism prevention fund and to several Jewish organizations.

Governor Newsom criticized the administration’s proposal in remarks to reporters on Friday, calling it an attack on academic freedom.

“Donald Trump today is trying to silence academic freedom; he’s attacking one of the most important public institutions in the United States of America,” Newsom said, according to KQED.

“He has threatened us through extortion with a billion-dollar fine unless we do his bidding. So as long as I am governor, I will stand tall and push back against that, and I believe every member of the California legislature feels the same way.”

🚨Governor Newsom calls Trump’s $1 billion UCLA settlement offer extortion and will not bow. pic.twitter.com/ikkIpW3as8

— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) August 10, 2025

University of California President James Milliken also spoke against the proposal, saying a $1 billion payment would “completely devastate our country’s greatest public university system” and negatively affect “all Californians,” KQED reported.

Leavitt maintained that the proposed settlement is aimed at ensuring compliance with federal civil rights law and protecting students’ constitutional rights.

She stated that the administration is prepared to provide detailed examples of alleged violations by UCLA administrators.

The conflict between California’s leadership and the Trump administration now appears headed for a potential legal battle, with both sides standing by their positions.

No timeline has been announced for UCLA’s formal response to the DOJ proposal.