Trump Halts $175M In Penn Funding Over Transgender Athlete Policy

PHILADELPHIA — The Trump administration had paused millions of dollars in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania due to the school's inclusion of a transgender woman on the women's swimming team.

A Trump Administration's social media account said it has paused $175 million in federal funding from the University of Pennsylvania "over its policies forcing women to compete with men in sports."

A Fox News report said the funding is tied to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense.

A spokesperson for the University of Pennsylvania told Patch the school has not yet received any official notification or any details of a funding pause.

"It is important to note, however, that Penn has always followed NCAA and Ivy League policies regarding student participation on athletic teams," the spokesperson 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 administration's post is referencing swimmer Lia Thomas, a transgender woman who competed for Penn.

Thomas, who attended Penn from 2017 to 2022, was the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship, having won the women's 500-yard freestyle event in 2022.

She came out as transgender in her junior year, and was required to swim for the men's team in the 2019–20 academic year while undergoing hormone therapy. In the 2021-22 year, she swam on the women's team after meeting NCAA hormone therapy requirements.