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.
The 10 colleges on the antisemitism task force’s list are Columbia, George Washington University, Harvard, Johns Hopkins University, New York University, Northwestern University, the University of Minnesota, the University of Southern California, and two campuses in the University of California system (Berkeley and Los Angeles).
Palestinian rights protests broke out at all of the schools last year. Some Jewish students, alumni and lawmakers said the activism sometimes veered into antisemitism, and Mr. Trump promised during the presidential campaign to address the issue. Supporters of the protests, which have often been led by Jewish students, deny the activism is antisemitic and say the accusations have been used to stifle speech.
Some firms lobbied in the first quarter on behalf of several of the colleges. Cornerstone Government Affairs, for example, represented N.Y.U., Johns Hopkins, the University of Minnesota and the University of California system. Another firm, the BGR Group, received $140,000 to lobby for Columbia, and also lobbied for the University of California system.
Nine of the 10 schools spent more money on lobbying during the first three months of 2025 than in the same period last year. The 10th, U.S.C., reported spending the same amount, but added a new subject that did not appear a year ago: “Issues related to Antisemitism.”
The University of California system, which lobbies on behalf of its 10 schools, spent $930,000 in the first quarter of 2025, the highest figure in the analysis.
The biggest increase from year to year was at Northwestern University, which spent $607,000, more than five times the figure for the first quarter of 2024. Even so, the Trump administration froze $790 million in funding for Northwestern this month.
The lobbying efforts are one of several ways universities have braced for attacks by the federal government, which has proposed cutting billions of dollars in research grants and contracts to colleges and universities. The administration has also threatened to increase taxes on university endowments, reshape the accrediting process and even revoke tax exemptions in some cases.
Some institutions, like the University of California system, have eliminated or scaled back their diversity, equity and inclusion programming. Others, like Dartmouth College, which has so far avoided Mr. Trump’s wrath, recently hired a former chief counsel for the Republican National Committee as its general counsel. And some schools have cracked down on pro-Palestinian student activism.
Columbia became an early target of the administration even though it spent $270,000 on lobbying in the first three months of 2025, up from $80,000 in the same period last year.
The university, which the government is threatening with $400 million in funding cuts, capitulated to some of the Trump administration’s demands, including agreeing to create a new internal security force and to place its Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies Department under the oversight of a new administrator.
“Columbia values its relationships with our delegation and other officials across all levels of government,” Samantha Slater, a Columbia spokeswoman, said in a statement about its lobbying efforts. “We are eager to tell our story on the vast impact Columbia research and contributions have had on improving lives and generating solutions to society’s most pressing challenges.”
Harvard’s attempts to protect itself from attack have also proved futile.
After trying for months to reach an agreement with the government, Harvard rejected wide-ranging demands that would have reshaped major aspects of the university, including how it hires faculty and admits students. Last week, Harvard sued the Trump administration.
In the first few months of 2025, when Harvard’s leaders believed they might be able to fend off a direct attack, the university paid $90,000 to Ballard Partners, a powerhouse Capitol Hill lobbying firm that is seen as close to Mr. Trump. Important figures in the administration, including Pam Bondi, the attorney general, and Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, formerly worked at the firm.
In a disclosure form, Harvard identified several subjects of its lobbying, including financial aid matters, admissions, athletics, graduate education, veteran’s education and “First Amendment and academic freedom issues.”
Some higher education leaders said the increased spending on lobbying was prudent.
At a moment when the administration is weaponizing research funds as a way to punish higher education, it is unsurprising that universities are beefing up their lobbying efforts, said Lynn Pasquerella, the president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities.
“We have to partner with legislators, and business leaders,” she said, “and people across all sectors in making the case about why this is a good investment.”
Stephanie Saul contributed reporting.
