Abstract

​

        For centuries, the federal government has subsidized higher education under the pretense that they would get a return in investment through scientific discoveries and continual innovation. However, under the Trump administration, universities have lost that funding for violating civil rights and challenging Trump's ideology in their curriculum. The question, then, is whether this is a legitimate way of targeting higher education for undercutting governmental authority and what are the legal implications of the funding freeze. While some institutions have responded through civil action, others have agreed to his terms. Given the ongoing nature of this topic, the outcome could determine how much the federal government can interfere with higher education to control the teaching topics. 

​

Introduction

        Since taking office in January, President Trump and fellow Republicans have targeted universities by freezing funding and withholding research grants across the United States, including University of Wisconsin schools, over student groups expressing antisemitic views and violations of civil rights through October 7th protests. These actions hold implications for students, teachers, and administrators as major questions regarding the future of higher education arise. Schools like Columbia, Brown, and the University of Pennsylvania have reached deals with the White House, often having to pay for the resolution of civil rights investigations to receive funding. Others, like Harvard, have chosen to go to court over the withdrawal of funds, while others still have chosen to interact with the government quietly through backchannels and lawyers. Though the government has worked with universities before, they have never done so quite so publicly, which begs the question: what does this mean for higher education?

 

Historical Context 

        The biggest interaction between the federal government and universities comes in the form of funding for scientific research. In 2023, American universities spent $60 billion in federal money on research and development alone [1]. Universities have relied on funding to keep the lights on and operations running for decades. For years it was well known that major scientific findings have always come out of universities, but it wasn’t until the 1950s that the federal government started giving grants to universities for research, starting at $138 million, and since, growing to $60 billion, all in current dollars [2]. Furthermore, these numbers fluctuate depending on who is president and which party controls congress. This relationship emerged as an effect of World War II, when the Manhattan Project, as well as many other military operations, enlisted the help of scientists or researchers from top universities, such as the University of Chicago or the University of California, Berkeley, to create the atomic bomb. The federal government discovered that they could gain scientific discoveries and military power by funding higher education, and spent $2 billion on this endeavor [3]. During this time, the government contributed to over 50% of the funding for scientific research in universities [4]. This brings us to the present day, where there is a mutual understanding between the federal government and higher education: taxpayers fund research and student aid. In return, universities deliver scientific breakthroughs and educate citizens who could defend the nation [5]. This era of “Big Science” relies on these resources from the government to uphold the United States’s global reputation for scientific innovation. 

​

[1] Andrea Fuller & Jeremy Peters, How Universities Became So Dependent on the Federal Government, ɴʏ ᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ, April 18, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/18/us/trump-universities.html.

[2] Alan Blinder, How Universities Are Responding to Trump, ɴʏ ᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ, November 7, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/article/trump-university-college.html

[3] Alan Blinder, How Universities Are Responding to Trump, ɴʏ ᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ, November 7, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/article/trump-university-college.html

[4] Alan Blinder, How Universities Are Responding to Trump, ɴʏ ᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ, November 7, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/article/trump-university-college.html

[5] Emma Green, Inside the Trump Administration’s Assault on Higher Education, ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴇᴡ ʏᴏʀᴋᴇʀ, October 13, 2025, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/20/inside-the-trump-administrations-assault-on-higher-education

 

The Trump Administration's Actions 

        With the election of Donald Trump, the disillusionment with the left, and populist anger toward elites hoarding of wealth and influence, universities have been made into targets for many people's discontent. The Trump administration first reached out to prestigious universities to investigate the antisemitic claims and other civil rights violations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in federally funded programs. In fact, of the 25 schools that received the most federal funding in fiscal year 2023, at least 16 are under investigation by the Trump administration [6]. These investigations look into schools that had large October 7th student protests surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Because these types of formal investigations are slow, agencies under Trump were able to quickly freeze or cancel funds to universities. These funds were interrupted on the grounds that the schools had violated their federal contracts, forcing universities to try and cut a deal ([7]. Ideally, once these deals were cut, the federal government would have a bigger say in the proceedings, teachings and ideologies of the schools. Overall, the process has become a way for the government to have more say in universities’ messages and management. These actions have appealed to a significant portion of Trump's voter base, with half of Republicans supporting withholding federal funding unless universities agree to his policies [8]. These investigations have led to various outcomes as colleges try to decipher how to respond. However, most universities see it as another threat to their independence, both, because the government is attacking higher education over what it perceives as endemic liberal bias, and because these actions represent a remarkable push to grab power for the executive branch [9]. 

 

[6] Andrea Fuller & Jeremy Peters, How Universities Became So Dependent on the Federal Government, ɴʏ ᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ, April 18, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/18/us/trump-universities.html.

[7] Alan Blinder, How Universities Are Responding to Trump, ɴʏ ᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ, November 7, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/article/trump-university-college.html

[8] Laura Spitalniak, 56% of adults disapprove of Trump's approach to colleges, AP-NORC poll finds, ʜɪɢʜᴇʀ ᴇᴅ ᴅɪᴠᴇ, May 9, 2025, https://www.highereddive.com/news/56-of-adults-disapprove-of-trumps-approach-to-colleges-ap-norc-poll-find/747689/.

[9] Alan Blinder, Anemona Hartocollis, and Michael Bender, Trump Asked Universities to Sign a Compact. Some See a Trap, ɴʏ ᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ, October 2, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/us/trump-universities-compact-funding.html.

​

The Legality of Government Overreach into Universities 

        The biggest question out of the Trump administration's investigations into higher education is whether the investigations are legal or not. By freezing the funding right away instead of when the investigation comes to a close, the administration has sidestepped the process of using Title VI of civil rights laws. Though the government’s conflicts with universities fall under civil rights investigations, they are treated as contract disputes where the universities are allegedly violating the agreements they made with the government by breaking these civil rights laws [10]. The responses from the universities have varied significantly. For example, Columbia University reached a deal with the Trump administration to pay more than $220 million to the federal government to restore the federal research funding that was canceled because the university allegedly failed to combat antisemitism on campus [11]. Furthermore, the school also agreed to overhaul the university’s student disciplinary process, endorse the government's viewpoint on certain issues (not only for teaching but also for the disciplinary committee), and revise its Middle East curriculum to ensure it is comprehensive and balanced. Columbia also promised to end programs “that promote unlawful efforts to achieve race-based outcomes, quotes, diversity targets or similar efforts” [12]. However, universities like Harvard have made significant strides in combatting the administration's acquisitions. When the Trump administration froze grants worth around $2.8 billion, Harvard rejected the demands and sued the administration over violations of the 1st amendment and improper procedures [13]. This lawsuit has since been ruled by a US district judge, who determined that the university's research grants should be reinstated and its funding unfrozen. However, the administration of Republican President Donald Trump does not yet seem to be fully complying with the court order [14]. Additionally, the administration has said they will appeal the ruling, meaning the case will likely end up before the US Supreme Court, where the decision could go either way. 

        If we look at UW-Madison specifically, the majority of the school's $890 million budget is from the federal government [15]. Although the school was not one that was listed as a potential target for funding cuts due, it received a warning due to their past treatment of Jewish students. However, UW-Madison spokesperson John Lucas said the university “condemns antisemitism in all its forms and strives to promote a welcoming campus environment for all members of the campus community, free from discrimination” [16]. There are also talks of forming a Big Ten defense compact where involved schools would band together and share funds if one of their members were targeted. It is clear that like many other public universities, UW-Madison is taking steps to protect themselves from potential investigations. Overall, there is a huge question mark over the outcomes of the Trump administration's actions. Universities don’t really know the scope of government involvement, and because there has been no real resolution to Harvard’s case, higher education is in a state of limbo. If Harvard, the richest university in the United States, loses their case, it might be a clear message that other universities are out of their depth. Given this standstill, all eyes look toward the ivy walls of Harvard in determining the future for higher education. 

​

[10] Alan Blinder, How Universities Are Responding to Trump, ɴʏ ᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ, November 7, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/article/trump-university-college.html

[11] Carolyn Thompson, Columbia University makes deal with Trump administration, agrees to pay more than $220 million to restore federal funding, ᴘʙꜱ, July 24, 2025, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/columbia-university-makes-deal-with-trump-administration-agrees-to-pay-more-than-220-million-to-restore-federal-funding.

[12] Carolyn Thompson, Columbia University makes deal with Trump administration, agrees to pay more than $220 million to restore federal funding, ᴘʙꜱ, July 24, 2025, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/columbia-university-makes-deal-with-trump-administration-agrees-to-pay-more-than-220-million-to-restore-federal-funding.

[13] Solcyré Burga, Harvard vs. Trump: A Timeline of Escalating Federal Pressure on America’s Top University, ᴛɪᴍᴇ, June 6 2025, https://time.com/7283245/harvard-trump-funding-timeline/

[14] Dan Garisto, Harvard vs Trump: millions in grant money begin trickling back to scientists, ɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ, September 19, 2025, https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03036-1

[15] Corrine Hess, UW-Madison faculty joins Big Ten schools in vote for 'Mutual Defense Compact, ᴡᴘʀ, May 7, 2025, https://www.wpr.org/news/uw-madison-faculty-joins-big-ten-schools-in-vote-for-mutual-defense-compact

[16] Corrine Hess, UW-Madison faculty joins Big Ten schools in vote for 'Mutual Defense Compact, ᴡᴘʀ, May 7, 2025, https://www.wpr.org/news/uw-madison-faculty-joins-big-ten-schools-in-vote-for-mutual-defense-compact