The White House did not explain the legal basis for the freeze or what needs to happen to reinstate the funding.

The White House has also moved to pull funding from the University of Maine after alleging that it violated federal law by permitted transgender students to compete on women's sports teams. UPenn receives more than $1bn in federal funding each year, according to the Daily Pennsylvanian student newspaper.

The decision is the latest clash between a university and the administration as it pushes schools to end diversity programming and adopt stricter discipline, among other things.