Federal scrutiny and partisan oversight are creating new governance pressures at American universities. A federal judge flagged that a White House pressure campaign has affected University of California faculty teaching and research, concluding administration tactics risk chilling academic speech. Separately, the House Judiciary Committee released a report accusing George Mason University’s president of misleading lawmakers about faculty‑diversity practices; the university’s president and legal counsel deny wrongdoing. The allegations triggered sharp public pushback from the president’s attorneys, who called the process politically motivated. Trustees, faculty senates and campus counsel now face intensifying demands from both federal actors and congressional investigators, complicating routine academic governance decisions and academic‑freedom defenses. Clarification: These actions involve both judicial oversight of alleged government interference and congressional committee investigations into campus leadership conduct.