California officials on Friday braced for what they believe is a significant escalation in President Donald Trump‘s efforts to squeeze the state financially, possibly cutting off all federal funding to the University of California and the California State University systems.

The Trump administration is gearing up to “cancel a large swath” of funding for the state, which could begin as early as Friday, according to CNN. However, the White House said Friday afternoon that no final decision has been made.

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Still, many elected leaders, such as Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), said they are preparing for the worst-case scenario.

“Whatever cruel crusade the President may announce against California, we will fight back,” Pelosi told the San Francisco Chronicle, adding that her office has been in contact with local and state partners. 

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) told the outlet that her office heard Trump “may be intending to cut grants to California because we didn’t vote for him and we’re democratically inclined.” 

“As a Californian representing some of our great research institutions and the ranking member of the Science Committee, I will fight back on this,” Lofgren said. “This will be immediately challenged in court. Every single California Republican should be on the phone with the White House to push back on this intimidation scheme.”

She added, “Donald Trump is a bully.”

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) echoed Lofgren’s sentiment.

“California leads the nation in technological innovation, groundbreaking research, and first-class education across,” he posted on X. “It’s why I’m going to fight any cuts or proposals that baselessly limit our ability to maintain our leadership, and will not allow our state to be bullied by Donald Trump.”

State Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, a Democrat, called Trump’s move “unconstitutional and vindictive.”

“This is unconstitutional and vindictive,” he posted on Bluesky. “We’re the nation’s economic engine and the largest donor state, and deserve our fair share. I’ll use every legal and constitutional tool available to defend CA — we must look at every option, including withholding federal taxes.”

Trump has repeatedly threatened to withhold various funding sources over California’s liberal-leaning policies. This week, his administration cut billions of dollars in funding for the state’s high-speed rail project. He also took California to task last week, threatening to cut funding over rules that allow transgender athletes to compete in girls sports.

Jeff Le, managing principal at 100 Mile Strategies LLC and former deputy Cabinet secretary to former Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown, told the Washington Examiner that cuts to California’s university system could have devastating effects.

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“As evidenced by the President’s blitz on Harvard and other Ivy League universities, news of the potentially dramatic cuts to the University of California and Cal State University System is credible, serious, and could cripple the state’s global stranglehold on research and innovation,” he said. “Gov. Newsom’s May revised budget had already planned for a 3% cut to the UC and CSU systems. Federal disinvestments and mass grant cancellations could force the legislature and the governor to rethink their higher education budget priorities and further add curveballs to the overall state budget picture.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D-CA) office did not respond to a request for comment on Trump’s purported plan to slash funding.