For the first time since at least 2002, Brown has enlisted two firms, one of which is staffed by operatives who have almost exclusively worked in the Republican Party, to lobby Congress and the Trump administration on its behalf, according to public filings reviewed by The Herald.
The move comes amid a shifting political landscape for higher education and a White House that has taken aim at highly selective universities nationwide.
The two firms include the more bipartisan Cornerstone Government Affairs and more GOP-affiliated AxAdvocacy Government Relations.
Cornerstone will lobby for federal support for Brown’s research and “thought leadership capacities” both on Capitol Hill and in the executive branch, according to the firm’s lobbying registration reports. They also listed defense, education, health issues and appropriations as general areas of lobbying they will focus on. AxAdvocacy will lobby on issues regarding education and taxation.
Neither firm responded to a request for comment.
These efforts come in light of the Trump administration’s threats of federal funding cuts and a potential increase of the tax imposed on private universities’ endowments. Columbia, Penn and Princeton have all recently faced cuts to or freezes on their federal funding.
The two lobbyists representing Brown through AxAdvocacy are Robert Babcock Jr. and Jeffrey Billman. Both Babcock and Billman have worked for numerous Republican members of Congress.
AxAdvocacy President Ashlee Rich Stephenson plays a “key role in advancing pro-business policies” in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and has worked on presidential campaigns for Republican candidates like the former New York Mayor Rudy Guliani and former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, according to the firm’s website.
The lobbyists advocating for Brown through Cornerstone are Christian Lee, Jennifer Neuscheler, Erik Fatemi, Carlos Miquel Jackson and Jonathan Miller. The five Cornerstone lobbyists have a mixture of backgrounds on both sides of the aisle.
Cornerstone President Campbell Kaufman has “been involved in various campaigns for Republican candidates at the local, state and national levels, particularly in Louisiana,” according to the firm’s website.
Due to Brown’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, it engages in lobbying that is “limited in scope to executive and legislative action that can affect the University’s mission and operations,” University Spokesperson Brian Clark wrote in an email to The Herald. Through lobbying, the University attempts to influence executive actions and legislation from the government on a local, state and national level, Clark added.
The University also hosts its own Office of Government Relations, which keeps in close contact with members of Congress to learn about legislative actions and inform policymakers about Brown’s concerns. “We discuss how policy changes could affect members of our community, our operations and future investments,” Clark wrote.
The University’s 2025 in-house lobbying expenses, which also disclose the issues Brown is targeting, have not yet been made publicly available. Past years’ records indicate that a partial picture of these expenses are typically posted in April.
The University’s lobbying expenditures have been on an upward trend in recent years, having spent $280,000 in 2024, $220,000 in 2023 and $200,000 in 2022. Brown’s lobbying expenditures are substantially lower than some of its peer institutions, with Harvard and Yale spending $620,000 and $600,000, respectively, in 2024.
The University has repeatedly focused its lobbying efforts on issues related to international students and scholars, research funding, university endowments and college affordability and financial aid, according to past quarters’ filings.
According to Clark, “effective lobbying on issues important to Brown involves building relationships with key policymakers, sharing information, demonstrating why a certain policy is important to our community, giving examples and helping to convey the impact not just on our campus, but on people in communities beyond Brown.”
The University also undertakes legal advocacy efforts that typically focus “on issues that are important to students, faculty and staff,” according to Clark, including things such as funding for research or advocating against measures that would limit Brown’s ability to offer financial aid.
In response to the cuts to federal research funding, the University joined in a federal lawsuit in an attempt to halt plans to cut National Institutes of Health grants. Vice President for Research Greg Hirth ScM’87 PhD’91 also submitted a February declaration in support of a filing by the Rhode Island attorney general to maintain a continued flow of federal funding.
Roma Shah is a senior staff writer covering University Hall and higher education. She's a freshman from Morgan Hill, CA and studies Neuroscience. In her free time, she can be found doing puzzles, hiking or curled up with a book.
