- Alexa Vazquez, Amber X. Chen & Chrissa Olson | Staff
- Oct 3, 2025 (DailyCal.org)
Gov. Gavin Newsom would not say whether he believed the UC should have turned over the names of 160 campus members to the federal government, a move that resulted in widespread backlash across the country.
The governor revealed that he had requested an “independent review” of the turnover from the UC Board of Regents, UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons and UC President James B. Milliken.
“I was unaware of it myself until I read about it,” Newsom said of the decision, which was first reported by The Daily Californian. “Once I have that information (from the independent review), I’ll be able to make a judgment as to whether or not it was consistent with past practices or whether or not it should be adjusted in terms of policy moving forward.”
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On all other accounts, the governor was steadfast in his condemnation of President Donald Trump’s administration’s growing interference in higher education.
At the press conference in Campbell Hall, which Newsom held to sign legislation to advance quantum and fusion research in the state into law, Newsom lauded the importance of the bills in light of federal funding cuts and escalating attacks on academic freedom.
Just yesterday, Newsom said he would “immediately” pull state funding from any California university that agreed to concessions to the Trump administration in exchange for favorable federal grants. So far, only one California university, USC, has been asked to agree to the compact.
Newsom, however, repeatedly emphasized his “confidence” in the UC system’s ability to navigate current negotiations with the Trump administration. He asserted that he has an “extraordinarily good working relationship” with Milliken and the UC regents.
“We have been working collaboratively for weeks,” Newsom said. “I’m not concerned about (the UC’s) capacity to organize a strategy that’s thoughtful and deliberative that maintains our values.”
Outside the conference, about two dozen union members and students gathered, urging the governor to prioritize their demands.
Members from several UC systemwide unions called for Newsom to encourage and reopen contract negotiations, including the University Professional and Technical Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees 3299.
About 15 student protesters called for Newsom to veto Assembly Bill 715, or AB 715, which would prevent schools from approving or using “professional development materials” that would subject a student to unlawful discrimination.
The bill would also establish a statewide Office of Civil Rights and require the appointment of an antisemitism prevention coordinator, which protesters said would temper pro-Palestinian speech.
At the same time, service workers expressed support for the governor’s signing of Assembly Bill 1340, which would allow gig drivers to unionize.
Inside, away from the shouts of protesters, Newsom signed both Assembly Bill 940, or AB 940, which supports quantum research, and Senate Bill 80, or SB 80, which supports fusion energy development.
State assemblymember Buffy Wicks and state senator Anna Caballero — who co-authored AB 940 and SB 80, respectively — were also in attendance, alongside Lyons, Milliken, state senator Jesse Arreguín and Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development Dee Dee Myers.
“We are in the future business,” Newsom said as he prepared to sign both bills. “It’s about investing in that conveyor belt for talent.”
In his support for the bills, Newsom also referenced what he called an “assault” on higher education from the Trump administration, likening its policies to a “wrecking ball.”
“They want to put the thumb on (academic freedom),” Newsom said. “They want to prescribe what that should or should not look like. I won’t be part of that, and I don’t believe the legislature will be part of that.”
Alice Conry and Jackson Woodward contributed to this report.
Alexa Vazquez
Amber X. Chen
Chrissa Olson
City News Editor
