U.S. Congressman Greg Stanton has called on Arizona State University President Michael Crow to decline any offer from the Trump administration to sign a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.” The compact, according to Stanton, would give universities preferential access to federal grants if they comply with specific White House requirements. Stanton represents the main Tempe campus of ASU in Congress.
A recent Wall Street Journal report indicated that White House officials had approached ASU and two other universities about the proposal after most of the initial invitees turned it down. Stanton had previously advised the University of Arizona’s president against signing the compact.
In his letter, Stanton wrote: “During your tenure, ASU’s research dollars have increased exponentially, based on scientific merit, not preferential treatment. The Trump administration’s compact represents an unprecedented intrusion into higher education, replacing academic freedom and institutional judgment with ideological dictates and rigid mandates. These aren’t reforms—they’re instruments of political control. By dictating who universities admit and hire, what they teach, and even how they conduct research, the Trump administration aims to strip higher education of its independence and bend it into an arm of his political power.”
The full letter is available online.
Stanton has represented Arizona’s 4th Congressional District since winning the 2024 general election against Kelly Cooper, receiving 52.7% of the vote. He also won the 2022 election against Cooper with 56% of the vote.
For more information, visit https://stanton.house.gov/2025/10/stanton-to-arizona-state-university-president-reject-any-offer-by-trump-white-house-to-sign-education-compact
