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Each quarter we track movements in US federal lobbying, channel by channel. This edition covers Higher Ed for Q2 of 2026, ranking the organizations, government entities, issues, and lobbyists whose disclosed spend moved most.

Central Themes in this Quarter’s Lobby Data

Appropriators Push Back on Deep Higher Ed Funding Cuts, Agency Restructuring

Ongoing negotiations over the FY2026 federal budget have sparked intense lobbying tied to proposed White House cuts and attempts to restructure the Department of Education, with Cornell University and Vanderbilt University meeting with both the House of Representatives and the Senate to advocate for research and education funding. While agency reductions and proposed eliminations of programs like TRIO and GEAR UP created significant uncertainty, House and Senate leaders have rejected the harshest measures, including maintaining Pell Grant and NIH funding, a priority also emphasized by the Board of Regents of Univ of WI System in their outreach to both chambers. Universities and advocacy groups, including Michigan State University and the University of North Carolina, have actively pressed for continued federal investment and opposed sweeping agency overhauls in their communications with congressional offices and the Department of Education.

📎 Appropriators Reject White House Cuts to Higher Education in FY 2026 ... · White House FY 2026 Budget Proposal Targets Education, Science, and ... · GOP-led House panel proposes 15% cut to Education Department

Financial Strain Drives University Lobbying as Layoffs and Program Cuts Escalate

Universities are ramping up lobbying efforts in response to layoffs, campus closures, and steep budget cuts caused by enrollment declines and volatile funding, as seen in actions by organizations such as the Association of Community College Trustees and Michigan State University. With over 9,000 sector job cuts reported and large multiyear deficits reported at both public and private institutions, stakeholders like Temple University—actively engaging the Dept of Education, House of Representatives, and Senate—are focused on securing federal support and advocating for regulatory stability. Such financial pressures appear closely linked to increased advocacy by major universities during Q2.

📎 US University Budget Crisis: Layoffs & Cuts Surge 2026 · Federal Policy Shifts Reshaping Higher Ed 2026

Regulatory Crackdown: New Federal Accountability Rules Spur Lobbying Blitz

The federal government’s rollout of stringent accountability metrics for higher education—including tying aid eligibility to student outcomes and alumni earnings—has heightened lobbying around research funding and administrative cost rules, with organizations such as Harvard University and the University of Oregon engaging with the House of Representatives and Senate. These regulatory changes, finalized in 2026, are driving universities to engage with lawmakers on the specifics of cost recovery and risk metrics, especially as research funding remains hotly contested by institutions like Michigan State University and Vanderbilt University, which have both filed advocacy with Congress. Advocacy filers are working to shape both budgetary and administrative frameworks.

📎 FY26 Budget: What’s at Stake for Students, Schools, & Higher Education · Dept. of Education Budget Request Released – Federal Relations · Federal Policy Shifts Reshaping Higher Ed 2026

Law Schools Mobilize on 'Second Chance' and Surveillance Reforms

Law schools substantially increased their lobbying activity around criminal justice reform, 'Second Chance' prisoner re-entry legislation, and proposed limits on government surveillance powers, with the Brennan Center for Justice actively engaging both the House of Representatives and the Senate on anti-corruption legislation, campaign finance, and surveillance technology issues. Several bills connected to rehabilitation, anti-corruption, and surveillance technology advanced through Congress in Q2, with law schools and the Brennan Center for Justice seeking to influence these debates. Issues such as biometric data use and campaign finance remain in the advocacy spotlight, highlighted by Brennan Center for Justice filings involving FISA Sec. 702 reauthorization and mass surveillance policy discussions in both chambers.

📎 Congressional Research Service (Second Chance Bills)

Section A: Lobbying Spend by Industry

How much each industry in this channel spent on federal lobbying in Q2 of 2026, compared with its average over the prior six quarters.

In Q2 of 2026, there was $23.9M worth of disclosed lobbying activity on Higher Ed, 37% lower than the recent quarterly average of $38.2M. This activity can be broken down by industry as follows:

↳ There was $18.0M worth of Schools & colleges lobbying, 35% lower than the recent quarterly average of $27.6M.

↳ There was $2.8M worth of For-profit Education lobbying, 14% lower than the recent quarterly average of $3.2M.

↳ There was $1.2M worth of Education lobbying, 59% lower than the recent quarterly average of $3.0M.

↳ There was $817k worth of Welfare & Social Work lobbying, 53% lower than the recent quarterly average of $1.7M.

↳ There was $714k worth of Medical schools lobbying, 67% lower than the recent quarterly average of $2.2M.

↳ There was $320k worth of Technical, business and vocational schools & svcs lobbying, 30% lower than the recent quarterly average of $460k.

Section B: Lobbying Spend Trend

This channel's total disclosed lobbying spend across recent quarters, aggregated over all of its industries.

In Q2 of 2026, there was $23.9M worth of disclosed lobbying activity on Higher Ed. Across the 10 quarters shown, the channel's total disclosed spend has fallen over this period.

Organizations' Lobby Spend

The image below shows the organizations whose lobbying spend moved most from their six-quarter average.

The organizations whose spending moved most from their own recent quarterly average were as follows:

↳ Association of American Medical Colleges accounted for $60k in disclosed lobbying, 93% lower than the recent quarterly average of $804k.

↳ Northeastern University accounted for $0 in disclosed lobbying, 100% lower than the recent quarterly average of $353k.

↳ The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania accounted for $140k in disclosed lobbying, 70% lower than the recent quarterly average of $467k.

↳ Alzheimer's Assn accounted for $80k in disclosed lobbying, 80% lower than the recent quarterly average of $393k.

↳ University of Florida Board of Trustees accounted for $0 in disclosed lobbying, 100% lower than the recent quarterly average of $273k.

↳ Northwestern University accounted for $150k in disclosed lobbying, 64% lower than the recent quarterly average of $420k.

Section D: Government Entities Lobbied

This section documents this quarter's most lobbied federal government departments.

By industry

The industry–entity pairings that moved most this quarter were as follows:

↳ Schools & colleges directed $5.9M of lobbying toward Senate, 40% lower than the recent quarterly average of $9.8M.

↳ Schools & colleges directed $6.3M of lobbying toward House of Representatives, 37% lower than the recent quarterly average of $10.0M.

↳ Education directed $413k of lobbying toward House of Representatives, 58% lower than the recent quarterly average of $984k.

By organization

The organization–entity pairings that moved most this quarter were as follows:

↳ The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania directed $40k of lobbying toward House of Representatives, 83% lower than the recent quarterly average of $233k.

↳ The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania directed $40k of lobbying toward Senate, 81% lower than the recent quarterly average of $208k.

↳ University of Phoenix directed $107k of lobbying toward Senate, 54% lower than the recent quarterly average of $235k.

Section E: Lobbying Issues

This section documents this quarter's most lobbied-on issues.

By industry

The industry–issue pairings that moved most this quarter were as follows:

↳ Schools & colleges put $3.6M toward lobbying on Fed Budget & Appropriations, 45% lower than the recent quarterly average of $6.6M.

↳ Schools & colleges put $5.3M toward lobbying on Education, 24% lower than the recent quarterly average of $7.0M.

↳ Schools & colleges put $1.1M toward lobbying on Defense, 48% lower than the recent quarterly average of $2.1M.

By organization

The organization–issue pairings that moved most this quarter were as follows:

↳ Illinois Institute of Technology put $250k toward lobbying on Education, 1718% higher than the recent quarterly average of $14k.

↳ Alzheimer's Assn put $0 toward lobbying on Fed Budget & Appropriations, 100% lower than the recent quarterly average of $194k.

↳ Alzheimer's Assn put $40k toward lobbying on Health Issues, 79% lower than the recent quarterly average of $194k.

Section F: Most-Active Lobbyists

The figure below lists the lobbyists who managed the most imputed lobbying value this quarter, alongside their firm or organization. Because a filing's value is split evenly across the lobbyists it names, these dollar figures are imputed rather than directly disclosed.

No lobbyist activity to report this quarter.

Section G: Organization Network

The header image for this edition maps how this channel's organizations (neutral nodes) connect to the federal entities they lobbied (colored nodes) this quarter. A link's weight is the filing value directed to that entity, and node size reflects total value; the House and Senate are excluded (nearly every organization lobbies them) so the specialized targets stand out.

The most widely lobbied entity this quarter was Dept of Education, which was lobbied by 11 organizations.

Methodology

Every figure in this report starts from one number: the disclosed value of each lobbying filing, which we take as the income a registrant reported plus any in-house expenses (income + expenses) on its quarterly US Senate and House LDA disclosure. Before totalling anything we clean the filings — applying each amendment over the original it replaces, removing duplicates, and setting aside non-standard records such as registrations and terminations — and map every filing to a lobbying channel and industry using the organization's CRP industry code.

How the money is divided. A filing's full value counts once toward the organization that paid it and that organization's industry, so the industry and organization rankings (Sections A–C) reflect whole dollars. But a single filing usually names several government entities, several issue areas, and several lobbyists at once, and the disclosure never says how the fee was split among them. Rather than credit the full amount to each — which would count the same dollars over and over — we divide a filing's value evenly across the distinct items it names. So a $200,000 filing that lists four agencies contributes $50,000 to each in Section D, and the same even split is applied across issues in Section E and across lobbyists in Section F. That way every section's totals trace back to the same underlying money without double-counting.

Reading the movements. A “deviation” compares the quarter's value to the average of the prior six quarters, so a rise or fall is measured against an entity's own recent norm rather than against the rest of the field. Section B takes the wider view: it sums every industry into one channel total and plots it quarter by quarter, with a fitted line showing the overall direction of travel. Source: US Senate and House LDA disclosures.