Baala Shakya, Staff Photographer

Four months into the Trump administration’s tenure, Yale remains one of two Ivy League universities that have not faced targeted cuts to their federal funding.

While the Trump administration has cited a range of justifications for cutting grants to other universities — such as unchecked antisemitism, failures to maintain campus order and a perceived lack of intellectual diversity — Yale has largely avoided confrontation. Although the University has not faced targeted attacks to its federal funding, the Department of Education opened an investigation into antisemitism at Yale on March 19 in response to a discrimination complaint filed in April 2024 by the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and the Anti-Defamation League.

In early March, the administration froze $400 million in funding to Columbia University after releasing a set of demands for institutional reforms that ask Columbia to enforce disciplinary policies, combat antisemitism and change its admissions standards. The same month, the administration froze $175 million in funds to the University of Pennsylvania over its policies regarding transgender people’s participation in sports. On April 14, it halted $2.2 billion in multiyear grants to Harvard University, citing its refusal to reform programs with alleged records of antisemitism, discontinue diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and promote more “viewpoint” diversity in academic departments. 

Meanwhile, Yale has drawn occasional scrutiny and rare praise from figures aligned with the Trump administration over its handling of pro-Palestinian protests. Simultaneously, University President Maurie McInnis has responded to criticism of higher education by ramping up the University’s lobbying efforts in Washington and limiting her own public statements.

University response to student protest draws “cautious” praise

In response to an April 22 pro-Palestinian demonstration in which student protesters briefly set up eight tents on Beinecke Plaza in anticipation of a visit by a far-right Israeli minister, the University ordered the protest to disperse and referred multiple student participants to the Executive Committee for disciplinary review. A University spokesperson told the News that the student participants are facing disciplinary action for “failing to comply” with Yale’s policies on use of outdoor spaces.

The following day, the University revoked the club registration status of Yalies4Palestine, a group that promoted the event on social media, citing the alleged violations of campus policy at the demonstration.

On April 24, the federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism — which has been investigating universities for antisemitism and potential civil rights violations — released a statement expressing that its members felt “cautiously encouraged by Yale’s actions” in response to the April 22 protest.

In a video taken at the brief encampment that garnered millions of views on X, a Jewish student claimed that “Jewish students aren’t allowed to walk through Yale’s campus anymore!” Harmeet Dhillon — assistant attorney general for the civil rights division at the Justice Department — tweeted about the incident, writing that the department “is tracking the concerning activities at Yale, and is in touch with affected students.”

The House Education Committee was also quick to also comment on the demonstration. In one post on X, the committee wrote, “Schools like Yale need to follow the law and protect all students—including Jewish students.” In another, posted after Yalies4Palestine’s registration status was revoked, it stated, “Yalies4Palestine brazenly violated campus rules in an attempt to occupy space on Yale’s campus. Schools across the U.S. continue to permit this kind of out-of-control behavior with virtually no consequences to those who break the rules.”

Republican Reps. Elise Stefanik and Virginia Foxx, who formerly chaired the House Education Committee during the committee’s hearings on campus antisemitism last year, have both called to defund elite universities over pro-Palestinian campus protests. In late March, Stefanik credited herself for Yale Law School’s termination of Helyeh Doutaghi, a research scholar who has faced allegations that she was a part of a designated terrorist organization. 

Similarly, Republican Sen. Mike Lee described pro-Palestinian protesters as “woke fascists.” But while Lee has repeatedly targeted Harvard — calling it “a mess,” declaring that “we shouldn’t be funding it” and, as recently as April 20, urging the government to not “give Harvard another dime” — he has made no such defunding calls for Yale. 

Yale limits public statements, increases lobbying in Washington 

Amid threats to higher education from the Trump administration, McInnis told the News in January that she would prioritize working with legislators and limit her public statements on the current political climate. In October, she recommended that Yale leaders broadly refrain from issuing statements on matters of public importance.

McInnis did release one statement in February, however, criticizing the National Institutes of Health’s plan to dramatically strip funding for indirect research costs. Blanket cuts to federal grants, particularly those funding academic research, have cost Yale millions, and the University expects to reduce spending on faculty raises, faculty and staff hiring, campus construction and general non-salary expenditures, per its proposed 2026 budget. In April, she also signed onto an AACU statement denouncing the Trump administration’s interference in higher education.

When Harvard refused to comply with the Trump administration’s demands for a chance to restore billions in frozen funds, McInnis declined to tell the News or make any similar public statement about whether she supports Harvard’s decision. 

Meanwhile, in the first quarter of 2025, Yale significantly ramped up its lobbying efforts, spending $250,000 — $20,000 more than Harvard and $70,000 more than it spent during the same period last year. Through the lobbying firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, the University recently brought on former Republican Rep. Lamar Smith ’69 — who previously chaired the House Science Committee, House Judiciary Committee and House Ethics Committee — and Hans Rickhoff, a seasoned Capitol Hill lobbyist, to aid in its federal advocacy.

Yale has also enlisted the services of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, one of Washington’s most prominent lobbying firms. According to Politico, the firm recently “launched a new higher education task force to advise universities on how to navigate the whims of the Trump administration.” Marc Lampkin, a strategist at the firm, told Politico that many universities “don’t intuitively get Washington” and need support to “understand how to navigate it.”

In early April, Yale quietly added the contested International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism to its webpage on anti-discrimination procedures. The update came days after Columbia received a letter from the Trump administration urging adoption of the same definition. 

In a 2024 report card assessing antisemitism on U.S. college campuses, the Anti-Defamation League rated Yale’s campus climate as a “high” concern. At the same time, the ADL found that the University was “meeting expectations” in its efforts to address antisemitism.

Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president on January 20, 2025.