While the Trump administration is pledging $235 million in funding to historically Black colleges and universities and those that serve Native American students, critics call it a “cynical ploy” because his administration is actually redirecting money from some schools that serve other communities of color.
Leaders of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus criticized the funding move as a tool of racist and political division.
“HBCUs and TCUs are vital institutions that deserve robust federal investment. Rather than increasing funding for these schools, the Trump administration has decided to redirect grants intended for other institutions that support historically underserved students,” the congressional tri-caucus said in a statement on Friday. “We saw this same playbook last year; it is a cynical ploy to pit minority communities against each other, and we won’t stand for it.”
Trump’s move comes amid a sweeping and ongoing campaign undercutting diversity, equity and inclusion programs — some of the very initiatives that helped expand higher education access for all students of color.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced the $174 million one-time funding boost earlier this week at the White House during the HBCU Summit. Presidents of the universities met with Trump administration officials, including Kelly Mitchell, executive director of White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, to discuss bolstering support for the schools.
The Trump administration also announced it was giving more than $61 million in funding, a one-time award, to Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities.
“This new investment will help ensure these vital institutions have the resources they need to continue delivering world-class education and to prepare students for success in a rapidly evolving economy,” McMahon said in a statement.
The Emancipator has reached out to the White House and the Department of Education for additional details about the funding but has not received a response.
HBCUs have been notified of the funding amounts; the money has been disbursed, and the administration has to the end of the month to disburse the funds, according to Lodriguez Murray, senior vice president of public policy & government affairs at the UNCF.
In April 2025, Trump reestablished the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and later that year, redirected more than $495 million to HBCUs by cutting grants to colleges that serve minority students. A move McMahon at the time defended as “redirecting financial support away from ineffective and discriminatory programs toward those which support student success.”
Civil rights groups criticized the end of funding for minority serving institutions at the time, with some saying the Trump administration was using HBCUs as a political move and that it created racial division.
“The Trump administration’s decision to eliminate funding for Hispanic-Serving Institutions and other institutions serving underrepresented populations is a devastating blow that will harm millions of students,” Francisca Fajana, director of Racial Justice Strategy at LatinoJustice PRLDEF, said in a statement at the time.
Some education advocacy groups, including the United Negro College Fund and Thurgood Marshall College Fund, praised the new round of funding.
“It is a further investment in the types of institutions that really care the most about and impact students coming from first-generation households and students that are oftentimes first-generation in terms of being in college and need the most help,” Murray, senior vice president of public policy & government affairs at the UNCF, told The Emancipator.
President Donald Trump frequently touts his administration’s action regarding HBCUs, claiming he has done more for the colleges than any other president.
But that’s a complicated boast, and many fact-finding news organizations have found his claim that he “saved historically Black colleges and universities” false.
During President Joe Biden’s tenure, his administration reported more than $16 billion in federal support for HBCUs and their students through May 2024. That figure included congressionally approved funding, federal grants, student financial aid and other benefits.
During Trump’s first term, he signed the bipartisan FUTURE Act, which made permanent $255 million annually for minority-serving institutions, including roughly $85 million annually for HBCUs.
During the first two fiscal years of Trump’s second term, his administration directed more than $612 million in additional funding to HBCUs above congressionally approved levels.
The influx of federal dollars comes amid a broader contradiction in the Trump administration’s approach to supporting higher education for students of color.
Federal internship programs, fellowships and grants aimed at being a pipeline for Black students to have equitable opportunities and find jobs after college are among the cuts by the Trump administration.
“The White House issued an executive order regarding HBCUs in April 2025. Though it appears to highlight federal support for HBCUs on the surface, the order’s language removes all references to diversity, equality, and inclusion and replaces them with innovation, infrastructure, and workforce needs,” the National Partnership for Women & Families wrote last month. “This switches the intention of the original HBCU PARTNERS Act from promoting diversity and eliminating stark racial disparities to work-based performance, which continues to slowly erode the decades of activism and advocacy to have racial diversity-based language at the forefront of dismantling systemic oppression and racism in America.”
Civil rights organizations, including the NAACP, have also criticized Trump’s inconsistency with HBCUs and said his executive orders on HBCUs are “photo ops or public relations campaigns.”
“The facts are clear: support for Black institutions cannot be measured by photo ops or public relations campaigns. We need policies that empower, safeguard, and invest in our communities,” Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, said in a statement when the executive order was signed. “This executive order is nothing more than smoke and mirrors meant to divert attention away from the severe funding cuts and the larger struggle against equity and racial justice that HBCUs face. Slogans are not enough for Black America. We are worthy of genuine advancement.”
The recent round of funding is beneficial for HBCUs, but advocates, including the NAACP, say more action, such as long-term sustained investments, is needed to support the institutions and Black students.
Many HBCUs, including Howard University, where The Emancipator is based, have seen record enrollment since the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling ending affirmative action in colleges and the cuts to DEI initiatives.
“HBCUs continue to face a range of challenges and opportunities that require collaboration among federal and state policymakers, institutional leaders, alumni, philanthropic organizations, corporate partners, and advocates,” the HBCU Campaign Fund said in a statement.
