Universities survived Trump’s 2025 funding freeze, but the money still isn’t flowing to researchers

The Trump administration is leaning away from dramatic funding cuts and settlements with universities, and more toward standard tactics to try to limit funding.

By: Brendan Cantwell, Michigan State University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: March 11, 2026

Words: 1,259

Last Updated: 4 months, 3 weeks ago

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By Brendan Cantwell, Michigan State University

Several prominent universities, including Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania, made headlines in 2025 in a dizzying back-and-forth with the federal government. The Trump administration cut large amounts of research funding to universities. Some pushed back, and others hatched settlements to get the money restored.

So how have these confrontations between higher education and the White House played out over the past year, now …

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