US election: tight vote cools hopes of aid for students and research

The US presidential election day drew to its end with no clear winner and signs of the Republicans keeping control of the Senate, potentially scuttling hopes for robust new investments in students and academic research.

Democratic challenger Joe Biden appeared likely to win more votes nationwide than President Donald Trump. However, as in 2016, the Republicans may yet win the White House through the state-based Electoral College tally.

By early on 4 November, the final outcome in the presidential contest was seen to be awaiting full ballot counts in several close states, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Democrats, meanwhile, appeared on course to hold their majority in the House of Representatives but faced diminishing prospects for the net gain of four seats – or three if Mr Biden wins the presidency – that they would need to control the 100-seat Senate.

Even if he takes the White House, Mr Biden likely would need full Democrat control of Congress to fulfil promises that include reviving federal investment in higher education and easing some of the legal perils facing nearly half a million students with foreign roots.

Yet a victorious Mr Biden would be expected to take some early actions upon assuming office in January, regardless of Congress, including ramping up efforts to fight the coronavirus and some easing of enforcement pressures on international students and scientists.

The American Council on Education, the main lobby group for US higher education, has long said that battling the pandemic more effectively stands as the most important step the federal government could take to help higher education.

The end of the election season also was seen likely to end the political posturing that has prevented Congress in recent months from approving billions of dollars in pandemic-related emergency aid — including assistance for colleges and universities.

Covid costs and losses amount to about a fifth of the $650 billion (£500 billion) that US colleges and universities spend each year, as new enrolments at four-year public and non-profit private colleges are estimated to be down 13 per cent this academic year.

The pandemic has also played a major role in the election, handing Mr Biden a key campaign issue against Mr Trump and driving a record use of absentee voting, which has slowed the counting of results.

Mr Biden, addressing supporters after midnight in his home state of Delaware, urged patience with the proceedings and predicted eventual victory over Mr Trump. “We feel good about where we are, we really do,” he said.

Mr Trump responded immediately afterwards, using Twitter to accuse Democrats of “trying to steal the election”.

Mr Biden’s leading campaign promises include a pledge to pursue tuition fee-free college for all students from families earning less than $125,000 (£96,192) a year. Implementing that, however, hinges on congressional approval and the ability of states to contribute.

US colleges and universities also have been hoping for relief from a series of Trump administration moves against their overseas alliances. Before the pandemic, international students had been paying more than a quarter of all US tuition dollars despite representing less than half that share of total enrolment.

The Trump administration also has been demanding that US universities publicly report their financial ties to foreign entities and that they remove China-based companies from their institutional endowments.

If elected, Mr Biden was also expected to reverse Mr Trump’s threats to penalise institutions that teach awareness of racial discrimination. The Trump administration specifically threatened Princeton University with the loss of federal support for having admitted publicly its own work to fight institutional racism.

Key defeats for Democrats and US higher education included Donna Shalala, a former president of the University of Miami and chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, who lost her seat in Congress from Florida after a single two-year term.

paul.basken@timeshighereducation.com