The White House is in conversations with Brown about the future of its federal research funding, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reported Friday. The discussions follow reports in April of the Trump administration’s plans to freeze $510 million in federal funds over allegations of antisemitism and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
An unnamed White House official also told Bloomberg that Brown, Northwestern University and Cornell are close to reaching deals with the federal government that would restore federal funding. The Trump administration is also in discussions with Harvard and Duke University, according to the Journal.
University Spokesperson Brian Clark declined to confirm if Brown is in negotiations with the federal government to restore federal funding. In late June, the University confirmed that it had experienced large-scale federal funding cuts including $45 million lost from National Institutes of Health grants.
The discussions follow two high-profile settlements from Columbia and Penn that restored hundreds of million in federal funding for the two universities.
On Wednesday, Columbia agreed to pay the federal government $220 million to restore $400 million in federal funds and settle civil rights charges.
Columbia also agreed to share admissions data — including information about race, GPA and standardized test scores from rejected and accepted applicants — with the federal government. The university must also provide details regarding disciplinary action for student visa-holders who are suspended or expelled.
Penn settled a Title IX investigation surrounding transgender athletes earlier this month, which led to the federal government restoring around $175 million in federal funding. Penn agreed to strip records from former swimmer Lia Thomas and issued a public statement about Title IX in which the university promised to adopt “biology-based definitions” of sex in its athletics programs.
Penn did not pay a fine to the federal government as a part of the settlement. According to the Journal, the White House is seeking cash settlements in negotiations with other universities following the Wednesday deal with Columbia.
This year, Brown has expanded its presence in Washington, enlisting support from two lobbying firms for the first time since at least 2002. The firms were hired to lobby on issues regarding federal research funding and education.
The University has also joined a number of lawsuits regarding cuts to indirect funds in research grants issued by the NIH, Department of Energy, Department of Defense and National Science Foundation.
Additional reporting by Cate Latimer.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Claire Song is a university news and science & research editor for The Herald. She is a sophomore from California studying Applied Math-Biology. She likes to drink boba in her free time.
