A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing the administration from withholding University of California research funds while a lawsuit alleging politically motivated enforcement proceeds. U.S. District Judge Rita Lin wrote that the government’s actions appeared to follow a “three‑stage playbook” of investigations, abrupt grant cancellations and demands for policy changes tied to funding restoration, and she barred the DOJ from freezing UC grants or conditioning funding on measures that would violate speech protections. The ruling, filed after a coalition of faculty groups and unions challenged the agency actions, underscores courts’ growing willingness to police agency tactics that critics say weaponize civil‑rights probes to pressure campuses. The judge cited public statements from administration officials and the timeline of grant suspensions in finding a credible threat to academic freedom. At the same time, several universities have pursued negotiated settlements or administrative deals to restore money and resume research operations. Journalists and analysts are now examining whether those arrangements—some criticized as concessions—preserve research continuity or risk long‑term dependency on ad hoc bargains with regulators. Higher‑education leaders and general counsels are watching closely: the ruling protects immediate research dollars, but the underlying policy fight — over speech, campus investigations and the terms of federal grants — remains active and likely headed back into litigation and congressional oversight.