A US federal judge has temporarily stopped the Trump administration from publishing the names of foreign donors who have given money to American universities, finding that the institutions had shared the information with the government on the understanding that it would remain confidential.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a temporary restraining order in Washington late Thursday, blocking the Department of Education from releasing the donor identities that were scheduled to be made public on Friday.
The disclosure plan forms part of the administration’s broader effort to examine foreign financial ties to US universities.
The order was sought by the Association of American Universities (AAU), which represents 69 major research institutions, including Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University.
Chutkan said the AAU was likely to establish that the Education Department acted improperly by deciding to release information it had previously indicated would remain confidential.
The judge warned that once the names entered the public domain, removing them from widespread circulation would effectively be impossible.
Her order will remain effective for 28 days while the court considers whether a longer-term injunction should be imposed.
The AAU welcomed the decision, arguing that making the donor identities public could discourage legitimate financial support for university scholarships, research and teaching programmes.
The Education Department has taken a sharply different position. It has argued that the lawsuit is an effort by universities to avoid scrutiny over substantial sums received from overseas sources.
The department maintains that the public should know more about foreign money flowing into American higher education and said it would continue defending its disclosure plans in court.
Dispute over donor information
The legal dispute centres on reporting requirements under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act. The provision requires federally funded colleges and universities to report foreign gifts and contracts exceeding $250,000.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order in April 2025 directing greater enforcement of those requirements.
The AAU argues that the law requires institutions to report foreign contributions by country in aggregate form rather than disclose the identities of individual donors.
Beginning in 2020, however, the Education Department also sought individual donor and contractor names and addresses. Universities provided that information even though the AAU says they were not legally obligated to do so, relying on assurances that the details would not be publicly released.
The Education Department announced in July that it intended to publish the donor names. It subsequently released the identities of 92 individuals it described as “counterparties of concern.”
The department then postponed publication of the remaining names several times before setting Friday as the latest disclosure date.
The latest court order puts that release on hold while the dispute over the government’s authority to publish the information moves forward.
The case is Association of American Universities v. US Department of Education, pending in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
