On October 4, 2025, two major controversies involving the Trump Administration sent shockwaves through the worlds of energy policy and higher education, sparking fierce debate across the United States and beyond. In Ankara, Turkish officials rebuffed President Donald Trump’s call for NATO states to halt Russian oil and gas purchases, while in Rhode Island, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and university leaders condemned a new federal compact pressuring academic institutions to restrict political speech and deny the existence of transgender students in exchange for federal funding.
Turkey’s refusal to comply with Trump’s demand comes at a critical juncture in global energy politics. Following a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in late September, President Trump publicly suggested that Ankara would likely comply with his proposal to halt Russian energy imports as a means of pressuring Moscow and accelerating the Ukraine peace process. Yet, Turkish officials made it clear they have no intention of cutting off Russian gas supplies. As winter approaches, energy security remains a top priority for the country.
“We cannot tell our citizens, ‘we have run out of gas.’ To ensure uninterrupted supply, we need to ensure access to these resources without discrimination,” Turkish officials stated, according to reporting from international outlets. The Turkish government emphasized that existing agreements with Russia would be honored and that diversifying energy suppliers and expanding domestic production are ongoing priorities. “Türkiye will naturally continue to receive gas from Russia as the agreements are already in place. Winter is coming. We need to get as much gas as possible from Russia.”
Turkey’s position is particularly significant given its status as a NATO member and a key energy corridor between East and West. While the European Union has moved aggressively to reduce Russian energy imports since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022—setting a goal to phase out Russian fossil fuels by 2027—several EU states, including Hungary and Slovakia, remain heavily reliant on Russian supplies and have openly opposed the phase-out. Turkey, not being an EU member, has charted its own course, refusing to join Western sanctions on Russia, maintaining energy imports, and keeping diplomatic channels open with Moscow.
Russian officials, for their part, see Trump’s push to steer NATO members away from Russian energy as a transparent attempt to boost U.S. oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RBK last week, “Trump has never hidden his intention to secure US economic interests. The simplest way is to force the entire world to pay more for American oil and LNG.” Moscow has repeatedly called Western restrictions on its energy sector illegal and self-defeating, warning that the EU will ultimately be forced to turn to more expensive alternatives or to indirect imports routed through third countries.
Meanwhile, a separate but equally contentious battle is playing out in the realm of higher education. The ACLU of Rhode Island issued a forceful letter to Brown University President Christine Paxson, condemning the Trump Administration’s latest “compact” sent to nine universities. The compact, as described by the ACLU, would require universities to restrict employees from speaking out on political issues, limit the enrollment of foreign students, and “once again require the university to essentially deny the existence of transgender students” in order to receive federal funding.
“Yesterday, Brown University, along with eight other universities, was confronted with yet another troubling attempt by the Trump administration to completely undermine the role of higher education in this country,” wrote Steven Brown, Executive Director of the Rhode Island ACLU. “This time, the threat comes in the form of a proposed ‘compact’ to deny or restrict federal funding to the university if it does not sign on to an agreement that would impose numerous unconscionable conditions on the university’s activities and mission.”
The letter further criticized the compact’s requirement that universities prohibit anything that would “belittle” conservative ideas, while purporting to promote a “marketplace of ideas” on campus. The ACLU argued that such measures are a blatant attempt to destroy academic freedom and the autonomy of higher education institutions. “We urge you to not only resist these and any further unconstitutional demands from this administration, but to forcefully and publicly reject them and urge your colleagues to do the same,” Brown wrote.
This latest confrontation follows a July 2025 episode in which Brown University agreed to implement discriminatory policies in accordance with two presidential executive orders limiting the rights of transgender Americans, in exchange for the restoration of frozen federal research funding. That capitulation drew swift backlash from civil liberties groups and political leaders. Shortly thereafter, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha joined 16 other attorneys general and one governor in filing a multistate lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s efforts to restrict access to healthcare for transgender youth—a legal battle that remains unresolved as of October 4, 2025.
Attorney General Neronha has been outspoken in his criticism of the Trump Administration’s tactics, describing the president as a “bully” and a “blackmailer” who sees negotiation as a sign of weakness. In March, Neronha stated, “You can’t negotiate with him, and you can’t reason with him… We have to hold the line. We have to hope that our infrastructure and our institutions hold up.” In August, he warned that capitulation would only embolden further demands from the administration, adding, “My overall view is to fight, not give in, even if that requires sacrifice.”
The controversy over the compact comes against a backdrop of broader political disputes over energy and climate policy in the Northeast. After Trump cancelled the Revolution Wind project—a major offshore wind initiative—the governors of Rhode Island and Connecticut agreed to expand fossil fuel infrastructure in their states, a move critics argue will undermine efforts to combat climate change and transition to clean energy. The ongoing discussions between the Trump Administration and Governors Daniel McKee (Rhode Island) and Ned Lamont (Connecticut) about adopting an “all of the above” energy policy have been described by opponents as “dangerous.”
As the academic year progresses, students and faculty at Brown University and other institutions are expected to play an increasingly vocal role in resisting further federal encroachments on academic freedom and civil rights. The ACLU’s letter warned, “I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that the response by universities to this latest brazen attempt by the executive branch to interfere with academic freedom may determine the fate of higher education’s autonomy for decades to come.”
In both the energy and education arenas, the Trump Administration’s aggressive tactics have sparked resistance, debate, and legal challenges. Whether these confrontations will reshape the balance of power between the federal government, states, and institutions—or simply harden existing divisions—remains to be seen. But for now, the stakes could hardly be higher, and the outcomes will likely reverberate far beyond the immediate headlines.