U.S. President Donald Trump signed several executive orders within hours of being sworn in as the 47th President of the United States of America. The orders were part of a re-making of America under the policies of Donald Trump. It fell in line with the bold and sweeping changes he and his administration are undertaking to rebuild America from the ground up according to their directives. Trump’s plan came further into focus and it could have dire consequences for HBCU institutions. A memorandum circulated in the White House Budget Office described a total halt in federal grants and loans at the end of business today.
HBCUs rely heavily on Pell Grants and student loans. It is estimated that 75 percent of HBCU students fund their education on Pell Grants, while another nearly 15 percent rely on student loans. The absence of both of these funding sources would cripple the financial infrastructure and possibly lead to the Spring semesters being canceled. If there is no funding for students to pay for classes and teachers are not needed, the entire budgeting model is deemed useless.
This directive will affect universities, municipalities, non-profits, small businesses, and state and local governments. The memo is specifically aimed at thwarting DEI, woke gender ideology, and the Green New Deal (even though the Green New Deal has not been implemented).
The directive reverses initiatives of the Biden Administration
The harsh language of the memo reflects ideologies forwarded by the Trump campaign during the campaign process and following his successful re-election to the presidency. The memo in part reads,”The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve.” The goal is to ensure that government spending is aligned with the priorities set forth by Trump.
Under the deal, as of 5:00 PM on Jan. 28, no funds are to be disbursed by any of the governmental entities under either established grants and loans or new grants and loans.
An anonymous employee of an HBCU financial aid office told HBCU Gameday they were frantically attempting to draw down every dollar possible by the 5:00 PM deadline. They indicated that under no uncertain terms could any HBCU survive a prolonged pause or even dismissal of Pell Grants and loans. It is the bloodline of the students and it is a big part in how the universities operate in general.
While Democratic leader Chuck Schumer pointed to the illegal manner of the pause, citing that the funds were signed into law, with control of the presidency, U.S. Congress, and Senate and favor from the Supreme Court, there will be little to nothing that can stop Trump’s forcing of his new initiatives on the country.
“Congress approved these investments and they are not optional; they are the law,” Schumer said. “It will mean missed payrolls and rent payments and everything in between.”
The implementation could cause chaos
More directly for HBCUs, Schumer expounded that the measure would create, “chaos for everything from universities to non-profit charities.”
“More lawlessness and chaos in America as Donald Trump’s Administration blatantly disobeys the law by holding up virtually all vital funds that support programs in every community across the country. If this continues, the American people will pay an awful price,” Schumer added. “Congress approved these investments and they are not optional; they are the law.”
The freeze on the funds will affect everything from college tuition to street lights for cities to first responder equipment. A major way the entire country was run was based on loans and grants from the federal government. It plays a significant role in the funding of HBCUs.
The premise of the government issuing grants and loans is an established application process. This process has been maintained by both Democratic and Republican presidents. Both houses of legislation have agreed for decades to uphold the strict process of applying for these funds and budgets have been built on the functionality of the process.
Sadly, the main point of the freeze is to reverse any implementations by the administration of the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden. President Trump has held disdain for Biden since 2020 when he defeated him in his bid for re-election. He has been consumed with erasing every trademark implemented during the Biden administration and this order falls in line with that premise. Unfortunately, the way this blanket order was implemented, will not only affect Democrats, but Republicans and Independents as well.
How the process works under normal circumstances
At HBCU institutions and other colleges, students apply for grants and loans. When they are approved, the university basically fronts the money to be used. The university then draws down the money after it is confirmed and used where it is designed to go. The university can then use the funds for the operations of the school. It is normally a cyclical process. This disruption in the process for any extended period of time is a death certificate for many HBCUs in short order.
Additionally, the Trump administration has expressed their desire to get rid of the Department of Education. It would end a national oversight authority for all educational institutions. That would leave complete oversight in the hands of the state agencies. That would direct in Florida, for example, the Board of Governors who oversee the state’s university system schools to be the full governing body over the colleges and possibly expand their authority down to high schools and elementary schools. With the Republican party supporting the funding of charter schools and school choice, it could mean the slow death of public schools and a blossoming of charter schools.
This is not a side note, this is a full arsenal alarm. If this is allowed to continue, the HBCU society we all know would be deemed dormant and headed for extinction.
Update: As of the writing of this piece, several non-profits have sued the Trump administration over today’s implementation of his executive order. Stating that it would have devastating effects on the most vulnerable of our citizens including meals for the elderly and critical resources for children. The non-profits seek a restraining order to prevent the mandate from going into effect at 5:00 PM on January 28th.
Student financial aid administrators across the country, including two we talked to, are scrambling to understand if student aid, including loans and grants, are in fact included in the order. The leader of the National Education Association is concerned that Trump’s measure would have far-reaching devastating effects. NEA President Becky Pringle said “The dream of higher education will be further out of reach as institutional aid for programs is affected. These are the real people impacted.”
501(c)3 group Every Library, who represents many libraries has released this statement: Federal funding for libraries, museums, and archives is guaranteed each year by Congress and authorized under law. The Trump Administration’s January 27th “pause” on distributing federal grant funding to authorized recipients will negatively impact those institutions and their communities.