Major research universities continue to spend heavily on state research.
An Within Higher Ed an analysis of lobbying spending among members of the Association of American Universities shows that at least $8.5 million will flow toward such efforts in the first half of 2026. Universities focus on many issues, including federal research funding, research reimbursement rates, international student visas, student financial aid, artificial intelligence and college athletics.
The $8.5 million total includes only AAU members and may be lower than the total cost, as several of those institutions missed the legal deadline to file Q1 lobbying reports. Last year, AAU members spent at least $8.8 million on lobbying the government in the first quarter and more than $37 million on such efforts during the first year of Trump 2.0.
Some AAU members saw a big increase in recruiting this quarter, while others spent less than before. The chart below lists individual institutions only, not those that apply as a program.
While Emory University was a top 10 spender among AAU members all of last year, in the first quarter of 2025 it only spent $170,000. This year Emory started with a $380,000 push, the most of any AAU institution that has reported expenses.
(Emory did not respond to a request for comment Within Higher Ed.)
The University of Washington was another top spender in Q1, shelling out $370,000. While that’s more than the UW allocated in any quarter in 2025, the university spent the second most on lobbying among AAU members last year, with a quarterly average of more than $335,000.
Of the universities on the above list, five are also ranked among the top 10 AAU students in 2025: Washington, Penn, Johns Hopkins, Yale and Emory.
The highest fundraising total among individual institutions, excluding programs, was a non-AAU member: the for-profit University of Phoenix, which spent $440,000 in the first quarter of 2026. (Phoenix spent $480,000 in each quarter through 2025, including just under $2 million in recruiting costs.)
Several AAU member institutions have seen significant reductions in lobbying costs.
Despite being a top 10 spender on state recruiting last year, Northwestern University scaled back its efforts, spending $121,000 in Q1 of this year compared to $607,000 at the beginning of last year. The sharp drop comes after the university clashed with the Trump administration last year over frozen research funding before reaching an agreement to free up those funds. In exchange, Northwestern agreed to pay the federal government $75 million and make various concessions, including withdrawing a promise to provide more support to Muslim, Middle Eastern and North African students and financial transparency.
(Northwestern did not respond to a request for comment Within Higher Ed.)
Federal lobbying efforts have also fallen on other agencies that have struck similar deals with the Trump administration. Columbia University, for example, spent an average of $267,000 per quarter on recruiting efforts last year but just $200,000 to start in 2026. Cornell University averaged $273,000 per quarter in recruiting expenses last year but spent $180,000 in Q1 2026.
Other institutions that were not in the federal crosshairs also reduced their lobbying costs.
The University of Florida was the top spender among AAU members last year, with a total of more than $1.4 million, or about $356,000 per quarter. But UF spent just $170,000 in Q1 this year.
“As responsible stewards of taxpayer funds, the University of Florida reviewed and streamlined its procedures to ensure full compliance [Lobbying Disclosure Act] disclosures and timely LDA reporting submissions,” UF spokeswoman Cynthia Roldan said in an email to Within Higher Ed. “This effort led to a reduction in recruitment costs – including third-party contract non-renewals – reflected in the Q1 2026 report.”
Although initial analysis shows that lobbying costs for the first quarter of 2025 and 2026 are comparable, spending tends to fluctuate throughout the year. In 2025, AAU members spent more money in Q2 (at least $10.7 million) and Q3 (more than $9.2 million) than they did at the beginning of the year. While lobbying costs ebb and flow, the squeeze in Q2 last year coincided with discussions about the One Big Beautiful Bill, which had far-reaching effects on the industry.
