The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) accused the federal government of using threats to research funding to demand governance and policy changes that, in its view, erode academic freedom and shared governance. AAUP President Todd Wolfson said the approach is not focused on enforcing civil-rights law, but on compelling sweeping changes to hiring, curriculum, and campus policies. AAUP’s report “Extorted Compliance: A Threat to Institutional Autonomy, Academic Freedom, and Shared Governance” argues the pattern accelerates during the second Trump administration, with examples including pressure on Columbia University to make concessions linked to research-funding leverage. The dispute is likely to affect how universities interpret federal compliance conditions, negotiate institutional autonomy in grant agreements, and prepare faculty governance bodies for heightened legal and policy scrutiny.