Princeton University is exploring measures to keep University programs running if federal funding is interrupted, University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 wrote in a campus-wide email on Tuesday, Jan. 28 in response to recent executive actions by the Trump administration. The short message stopped short of issuing definite guidance and directed students, staff, and faculty to contacts for various University administrative offices.
“At this time, there is much that we do not know,” Eisgruber wrote.
In his email, Eisgruber also said that steps were being taken to evaluate the impact of a funding freeze on University research, and that affiliates would receive additional direction from the Office of the Dean of Research. He did not specify a timeline for when that guidance might come.
“As part of this process, we are also exploring measures to ensure continuity of operations and programs should temporary interruptions to funding occur,” Eisgruber added.
A Monday memo from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) called for a freeze of federal funding and loan programs by 5 p.m. on Tuesday. United States District Judge Loren L. AliKhan ordered an administrative stay just minutes before it was supposed to take effect.
While the executive order remains in effect, the OMB memo was rescinded on Wednesday. According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the rescission of the memo was enacted “To end any confusion created by the court’s injunction.”
In a post on X, Leavitt wrote that “The President’s EO’s on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented.”
The memo has prompted widespread confusion and concern for its potential impacts on funding of research and financial aid programs at universities across the country. The University of Pennsylvania’s president expressed similar uncertainty about ongoing developments, but said that Penn’s “financial outlook is sound.” At Brown University, the president and the provost wrote that they were prepared to use their “legal right” to challenge laws and regulations, while Harvard’s president wrote that some research could be forced to stop if federal funds were removed.
The University receives a significant portion of its research funding from the federal government. In the 2023 fiscal year, federal funding made up $221 million of research expenditures out of a total of $298 million. In the 2023–24 academic year, $328 million from external sources funded 1,740 awards for campus research, with federal funding making up over three-fourths of this amount. A freeze on that funding could impact research for nearly every department on campus.
Federal funding for financial aid programs does not appear to be at risk. The White House clarified in a fact sheet that federal funding for Pell Grants and student loans will not be paused as a result of the funding freeze, along with “any program that provides direct benefits to Americans.” The University estimated that six percent, or $16 million, of the undergraduate financial aid budget for the 2024–25 academic year comes from “outside scholarships, governmental grants, and other miscellaneous funds.”
Eisgruber’s email is the first communication from the University following President Donald Trump’s recent policy decisions that may threaten University funding and operations. These also include a temporary freeze on National Institute of Health (NIH) grant reviews and planned investigations into the DEI programs of universities with large endowments.
The pause in funding is intended to give federal agencies time to evaluate if their financial assistance programs are in compliance with Trump’s new policies.
In an email to The Daily Princetonian, Oliver Meyer ’28, president of the Princeton College Republicans, wrote that “[b]ecause the Trump policy roll out is in its early stages, there isn’t much to comment on regarding President Eisgruber’s email.
“However, I strongly agree with the Trump administration’s increased attention paid to holding top universities to account, for allowing the dangerous spread of aggressively anti-American and antisemitic sentiment,” he added.
In an interview with the ‘Prince,’ Quentin Colón Roosevelt ’27, president of the Princeton College Democrats, said that Eisgruber’s email was “probably the right thing to do.”
“It didn’t seem like it was any concrete action being taken,” he said. “We’re going to keep on the lookout, and we’re going to make sure that funding for programs doesn't get ruined.”
He added that the University should address any gaps that may arise from the Trump administration’s executive orders.
“It’s in Princeton’s mission statement and also what Princeton should be doing as a top-ranked university, and a university that people look towards for social change and civic action to stand up here and to make sure that these things keep being funded,” he said.
While the future of the freeze remains unclear, Eisgruber wrote that updates would be provided as the situation evolves and expressed gratitude to the campus community amidst the uncertainty.
“Thank you for your ongoing dedication to our shared mission of research, teaching, and service,” he wrote.
Lia Opperman is a senior News writer and the Director of Outreach emerita for the ‘Prince.’ She is from Southern N.J. and typically covers academic policy, national higher education, and University finances.
Vitus Larrieu is a senior News writer for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Pensacola, Fla. and typically covers community activism, national higher education, and construction and architecture.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect the rescission of the OMB memo on Wednesday, Jan. 29.
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