The Trump administration has promised to suspend $175 million in funding to the University of Pennsylvania over the controversy involving trans-identified swimmer Lia Thomas, a male athlete the school allowed to compete on the women’s swim team in 2022.
The White House’s rapid response account shared a Fox News article on social media Wednesday, stating that the decision was due to the university’s “policies forcing women to compete with men in sports.”
In an email provided to CBS Philadelphia this week, White House officials confirmed that the university’s handling of the situation with Thomas was connected to the decision.
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“UPenn infamously permitted a male to compete on its women’s swimming team, overturning multiple records hard-earned by women and granting the fully intact male access to the locker room. This is NOT the result of the Title IX investigation launched by the Department of Education,” wrote an unnamed senior White House official in the email.
A White House official said that it is an “immediate proactive action to review discretionary funding streams to those universities,” according to CBS. The paused funding came from the Department of Defense and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Thomas, born with the first name Will, competed for three seasons on the Penn men’s swim team before competing on the women’s team during the 2021-2022 season. After the athlete started identifying as female, he went on to win the women’s 500 freestyle final at the 2022 NCAA Swimming Championship in Atlanta.
The situation sparked outrage from women’s sports advocates, especially after Thomas’ former teammate Paula Scanlan opened up to the media about having to change in a locker room with the male athlete.
According to Scanlan, Thomas still had all of his male genitalia, but the school reportedly forced the female swimmers to keep quiet about any feelings of discomfort regarding Thomas being on their team.
“They continued to tell us that our opinions were wrong and if we had an issue about it, we were the problem,” Scanlan said in a 2023 interview with The Daily Wire, a conservative news outlet. “[A]nd it’s frightening, and your future job is on the line.”
In a statement to The Associated Press, a Penn spokesperson claimed that the school had not received any official notification or details regarding the suspension of federal funding.
“It is important to note, however, that Penn has always followed NCAA and Ivy League policies regarding student participation on athletic teams,” university spokesperson Ron Ozio told the AP.
“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 University of Pennsylvania did not immediately respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Education announced an investigation into Penn and several other universities the day after Trump signed an executive order to prevent male athletes from participating in women’s sports. After Trump signed the order, the NCAA unveiled a new policy that prohibits trans-identified males from competing on women’s sports teams.
“President Trump’s Executive Order ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’ is a promise to women and girls: this administration will not tolerate the mistreatment of female athletes,” Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in a Feb. 6 statement.
“The Department is taking swift action to investigate three entities for suspected Title IX violations: San Jose State University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association.”
Trainor claims the Biden administration “trampled the rights of American women and girls — and ignored the indignities to which they were subjected in bathrooms and locker rooms — to promote a radical transgender ideology.”
“That regime ended on January 20, 2025,” he stated.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
