United States | News & Politics

Universities and colleges across the United States are on pace to spend a record amount of money on lobbying in 2025 as President Donald Trump works to reshape higher education through massive cuts in federal financial support.

The White House has been targeting institutions for their handling of issues like antisemitism, diversity policies and transgender inclusion, already cutting billions of dollars in funding to elite schools. In addition to cutting off grants for research funding, ending support for financial aid programs and threatening schools’ tax-exempt status, the administration has discussed the potential deportation of roughly 400,000 undocumented college students.

Under financial pressure from the Trump administration, some universities are changing their policies to comply with the president’s demands while ramping up their lobbying expenditures. In 2024, colleges and universities broke a record by spending $104.9 million on lobbying. In the first quarter of 2025, universities and colleges already spent $27.6 million.

The biggest increases, which often include hiring additional lobbyists, were made by some of the universities that have become prominent targets of the administration, such as Columbia University, Harvard University, Northwestern University and the University of California.