The White House said it was freezing $175 million of federal funding to President Trump’s alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, citing the school’s policies on transgender athletes.

The White House announced its decision by posting a Fox Business clip on X Wednesday that was sourced to an unnamed White House official.

“President Trump has promised to protect female athletes,” the clip says. “He has threatened to rip federal funding away from any university that defies his executive order banning biological males from infiltrating women’s sports. And he is doing it.”

The decision comes after Trump last month signed an executive order called “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which would cut federal funding from educational institutions that allow transgender women and girls to compete in female sports.

Penn received more than $1 billion in federal funds in fiscal year 2024, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian. A $175 million freeze would account for about 17.5% of that money.

The Department of Education responded to an NPR inquiry about the funding freeze by referring inquiries to the departments of Defense and Health and Human Services. Neither of the two departments, nor the White House, responded to requests for comment.

The move this week follows a campaign promise and years of rallying against transgender people who compete in sports and serve in the military.

The University of Pennsylvania became a major focal point in the debate in 2022 when a transgender student, Lia Thomas, won three individual swimming events in the women’s Ivy League championships.

Thomas had competed in the men’s league for her first few seasons, during which time she had begun to medically transition.

After the White House’s social media announcement, Penn’s office of communications said in a statement that the university had not been notified of the funding freeze.

“We are aware of media reports suggesting a suspension of $175 million in federal funding to Penn, but have not yet received any official notification or any details,” the statement said.

“It is important to note, however, that Penn has always followed NCAA and Ivy League policies regarding student participation on athletic teams,” it said. “We have been in the past, and remain today, in full compliance with the regulations that apply not only to Penn, but all of our NCAA and Ivy League peer institutions.”

By: Don Rebel


Wednesday, March 19, 2025 | 11:14 PM

While there are two more Trib HSSN state rankings to come this basketball season, the five teams in each classification have been finalized.

The order may or may not change heading into the state finals and then following the PIAA title games, but the final five are set in each class.

There was not a lot of movement following the quarterfinals with only five teams falling out of the state top 5.

Another thing that hardly changed from last week was the top-ranked teams in each class.

Only Jeannette in Class 2A dropped from No. 1 to No. 5 and was replaced on top by Linville Hill Christian Academy.

The other five top-ranked teams heading into the state semifinals remain the same with Imhotep Charter in 6A, Neumann-Goretti in 5A, Devon Prep in 4A, South Allegheny in 3A and Neighborhood Academy in Class A.

Here is the latest top 5 in each of the six classifications. Teams are listed with overall record, district and last week’s ranking.

Class 6A

1. Imhotep Institute Charter (26-5) (12) (1)

2. Upper St. Clair (26-2) (7) (2)

3. Father Judge (22-7) (12) (3)

4. Roman Catholic (24-5) (12) (4)

5. McDowell (23-5) (10) (5)

Out: None

Class 5A

1. Neumann-Goretti (17-11) (12) (1)

2. Hershey (23-3) (3) (3)

3. Chartiers Valley (26-3) (7) (4)

4. Upper Moreland (22-6) (1) (NR)

5. Johnstown (26-2) (6) (2)

Out: Monsignor Bonner-Archbishop Prendergast (12)

Class 4A

1. Devon Prep (21-4) (12) (1)

2. Berks Catholic (23-4) (3) (2)

3. Valley View (23-5) (2) (4)

4. North Catholic (22-6) (7) (NR)

5. Cathedral Prep (19-9) (10) (3)

Out: Bishop Shanahan (1)

Class 3A

1. South Allegheny (26-3) (7) (1)

2. Aliquippa (23-5) (7) (4)

3. West Catholic (12-14) (12) (NR)

4. Holy Cross (25-4) (2) (NR)

5. Forest Hills (25-3) (6) (2)

Out: Camp Hill Trinity (3), Taylor Riverside (2)

Class 2A

1. Linville Hill Christian (22-5) (3) (2)

2. Greensburg Central Catholic (26-2) (7) (3)

3. Sewickley Academy (23-5) (7) (4)

4. Northwest Area (26-3) (4) (5)

5. Jeannette (23-3) (7) (1)

Out: None

Class A

1. Neighborhood Academy (27-1) (7) (1)

2. Otto-Eldred (28-1) (9) (3)

3. Sankofa Freedom Academy (18-11) (12) (4)

4. Lancaster Country Day (18-9) (3) (NR)

5. Chester Charter Scholar Academy (22-5) (1) (2)

Out: The Christian Academy (1)

Pennsylvania’s special election next week will determine whether Democrats or Republicans will control the state House, a glimpse of voter sentiment in the swing state that helped return President Donald Trump to the White House.

The death of Democratic state Rep. Matt Gergely has left the House deadlocked at 101-101 since January. A Democratic win on Tuesday would keep Speaker Joanna McClinton of Philadelphia as the chamber’s presiding officer, while a Republican flip would enable the GOP to pick a different speaker, control the voting schedule and install their own members as committee chairs.

The race pits Democrat Dan Goughnour, 39, a police officer who supervises detectives and serves on the school board in McKeesport, against Republican Chuck Davis, 66, a fire chief who also serves as president of the White Oak Borough Council. Libertarian Adam Kitta is also on the ballot.

Steelmaking towns once thrived in the district southeast of Pittsburgh at the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers, but the the area known as the Mon Valley is now economically challenged.

In a visit to the district last month, Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said a win will show that Democrats are willing to fight for their values. Pennsylvania Democrats lost a U.S. Senate seat and all three row offices — treasurer, attorney general and auditor general — in the November election, along with giving Trump a slim majority of the state’s votes.

It would be a seismic upset for Republicans to flip it after the district went for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris over Trump in November, 58% to 42%. Gergely won it with 75% of the vote in a special election in 2023, and Republicans did not field a candidate against him last fall. In the 2022 gubernatorial race, Democrat Josh Shapiro also won three-quarters of the district’s vote, swamping Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano of Franklin County.