Trump administration steps up efforts to scrutinize foreign funding of universities

By Reuters 24 February 2026, 2:21 am

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Students sit on the front steps of Low Memorial Library on the Columbia University campus in New York City, February 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

The administration of US President Donald Trump is stepping up work to uncover what it sees as malign foreign influence at US colleges and universities, officials say, as they announce that the US State Department will assist the Department of Education in that effort.

Trump has threatened to cut federal funding to universities over issues such as anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protests against the war in Gaza, transgender policies, climate initiatives and diversity, equity and inclusion programs, raising free speech and academic freedom concerns.

Trump, in April 2025, issued an executive order calling for enforcement of Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, which requires that colleges receiving federal funding report gifts or contracts worth more than $250,000 from any foreign source. In December, the Department of Education launched a new portal for universities to report that funding.

US colleges and universities disclosed 8,300 transactions totaling $5.2 billion in 2025 — which includes funding from governments as well as private companies and individuals, the Education Department said in a statement.

The largest source of funding last year was Qatar ($1.1 billion), followed by Britain ($633 million) and China ($528 million), it said.

Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers says the State Department’s new role would “ensure an invigorated compliance assurance effort by the federal government.”

“The Department of State will be applying our national security expertise and our expertise countering foreign malign influence to bolster oversight efforts by the Department of Education,” Rogers told reporters in a briefing at the State Department.

Officials declined to spell out specific examples of how foreign funding had unduly influenced higher education institutions, and said they were primarily seeking to boost compliance by the universities and improve transparency.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.