Feeling Political Heat From Trump, Colleges Pump Up Their Lobbying

Top colleges in the cross hairs of President Trump have sharply increased their spending on lobbying, according to an analysis by The New York Times.

Ten universities that have been singled out by the administration for scrutiny spent a combined $2.8 million lobbying the federal government in the first three months of 2025, which is more than those institutions spent in any quarter at least since 2008, according to the analysis. A federal task force that says it is devoted to rooting out antisemitism on campuses targeted those schools in February for investigation.

One of the 10, Columbia University, more than tripled its spending on lobbying in the first quarter of 2025, compared with the same quarter last year, the analysis found. Another, Harvard University, also greatly increased its lobbying outlays, spending $230,000, compared with $130,000 in the same period last year.

Lobbyists generally seek meetings with White House and Congressional staff members to discuss matters that affect the institutions they represent. Public records show that for the targeted schools, those matters in the first months of 2025 included, among other things, seeking financial aid for students, promoting the value of university research and explaining efforts to combat antisemitism.

Colleges that have been accused by the Trump administration of being bastions of leftism are seeking the help of firms that are in tune with conservative sensibilities. Much of the new spending on lobbying is flowing to firms with Republican bona fides.

The amount the schools spent on contracted lobbying firms increased nearly 150 percent from the first quarter of 2024 to this year. The analysis found that these schools were far more reliant on lobbyists with Republican ties than a year before.