Yale outspends Ivy League peers in third-quarter federal lobbying: Here’s what it spent and the issues it targeted
Yale University spent $370,000 on lobbying the federal government in the third quarter of 2025, its highest quarterly total this year, according to disclosures filed Monday. The figure marks an increase from the $320,000 reported in the second quarter and brings the university’s total lobbying expenditures for the year to $890,000, Yale Daily News reports.
Rising engagement in Washington
The rising spending reflects Yale’s growing engagement in Washington amid threats to its endowment and research funding. Richard Jacob, associate vice president for federal and state relations, told Yale Daily News that the university works to communicate the impact of higher education and Yale’s priorities to legislators across the political spectrum, while highlighting how the institution addresses challenges facing American society.
Yale leads Ivy League
Yale has consistently spent more on lobbying than most other Ivy League universities. In the third quarter, Columbia reported $290,000, Cornell $240,000, Harvard $220,000, the University of Pennsylvania $200,000, and Princeton $160,000. Dartmouth spent $80,000, while Brown’s disclosure was not yet publicly available. Dartmouth and Yale remain the only Ivy League schools not directly affected by funding cuts imposed by the Trump administration.
Focus areas: Taxes, research, and student aid
The university’s lobbying efforts focused on tax legislation, student financial aid, and federal research funding. Among the key issues was the Republican-backed “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which increased the tax on endowment investment returns from 1.4 percent to 8% for Yale and other wealthy universities.
Expanding presence in the capital
Jacob noted that Yale has expanded its presence in Washington in recent years, opening an office in the city and increasing in-person meetings for the university president with government officials. The university retained the lobbying firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld during the third quarter to advocate on matters including endowment tax and free speech, engaging with the House of Representatives, Senate, and the White House.
Key lobbyists
Akin Gump policy advisor Zach Deatherage, a former legislative director for Republican Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, lobbied for Yale this quarter. The university also continued working with Lamar Smith, a former Republican congressman from Texas. In addition, Yale retained Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck to lobby on higher education issues. The firm employed Evan Corcoran, a former personal attorney for President Donald Trump, and veteran Republican lobbyist Marc Lampkin, according to Yale Daily News.
Eight bills on the agenda
Yale’s lobbying touched on eight bills besides the endowment tax measure, including the “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026,” which has implications for research funding. The university also engaged with the “Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act,” which covers student-athlete name, image, and likeness rights. Jacob told Yale Daily News that the university had not taken a position on the SCORE Act, but used the discussion to explain its approach to college athletics.The university’s fourth-quarter lobbying report, covering activities from 1 October to 31 December, is due 20 January, 2026.
