A federal judge has blocked the Education Department from releasing a list of foreign donors to Harvard, Columbia, and other top U.S. universities, ruling that disclosing the confidential information could cause "irreparable harm." U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a temporary restraining order on October 2, 2026, as the Trump administration sought to publish a list of foreign donors who have contributed up to $5.2 billion to these universities since 2020.
According to officials, the majority of the $5.2 billion came from non-natural person entities rather than individual donors. An Education Department official noted that the list could include foreign governments, militaries, businesses, or entities connected to universities and Chinese intelligence.
Judge Chutkan stated in her five-page order that the imminent publication of donor names would likely violate the Administrative Procedure Act and could lead to safety concerns for donors from politically repressive countries. She emphasized that once published, the information would likely remain public indefinitely.
The Association of American Universities (AAU), which represents at least 69 top research universities in the U.S., including the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University, filed the suit against the Department of Education. The AAU argued that donors contributed based on assurances of privacy.
An Education Department spokeswoman claimed that the ruling would prevent the administration from revealing schools receiving significant funding from foreign actors that promote anti-Western ideologies and support sensitive technology partnerships.
The AAU welcomed the ruling, stating that if the Trump administration succeeded in publishing the names, it would deter lawful donations that support scholarships and research.
In April 2025, the Education Department began investigating the University of California-Berkeley regarding funding from China. The same month, President Trump signed an executive action to enhance enforcement of Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, which requires U.S. universities to report contracts or gifts from foreign sources exceeding $250,000. The AAU objected, claiming the department had been obtaining individual donor identities since 2020.
An Education Department official expressed concerns that the funding was aimed at stealing intellectual property and promoting anti-Zionist, anti-Western ideologies on U.S. campuses, which they argued was dividing both campuses and the country.