The Trump administration continues to tout its investment in historically Black colleges and universities, and while it has supported HBCUs, critics argue that this support has come at a cost to other minority-serving institutions. These critical voices are accusing Trump of attempting to divide minorities.
Caucuses warn Trump is taking money from other minorities to fund HBCUs, TCCUs
A coalition of minority members of Congress are criticizing the Trump administration’s announcement of $235 million in federal funding for Black and Indigenous colleges. The chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus issued a joint statement criticizing the Department of Education’s announcement of a one-time $174 million boost in funding for HBCUs and a separate one-time award of more than $61 million for Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs). The three chairs, who lead what is known as the Tri-Caucus, note that the money is being taken away from other programs that benefited minority students. “HBCUs and TCUs are vital institutions that deserve robust federal investment,” the Tri-Caucus chairs said in their statement. “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 chairs declared “we saw this same playbook last year” and called the administration’s actions “a cynical ploy to pit minority communities against each other and we won’t stand for it.”
As Blavity previously reported, the Trump administration declared that it no longer supported issuing federal grants to Hispanic-Serving Institutions, which are defined as colleges or universities with student bodies that are 25% or more Hispanic. Solicitor General John Sauer issued a statement calling the grants “patently unconstitutional,” and the Department of Justice announced its backing of a lawsuit filed by the state of Tennessee and the group Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA). Based on the DOJ’s stance, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced in 2025 that the Department of Education was cutting $350 million in grants to Hispanic-Serving Institutions, as well as grants to other minority-serving institutions for groups such as Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, Asian Americans, and Native American Pacific Islanders; McMahon declared that these grants “illegally restrict eligibility to institutions that meet government-mandated racial quotas.” McMahon subsequently announced that the Department of Education was “redirecting financial support away from ineffective and discriminatory programs toward those which support student success,” reallocating hundreds of millions of dollars to HBCUs, TCCUs and charter schools. As the Tri-Caucus statement indicates, the recent funding for HBCUs and TCCUs similarly represents this redirection of funds.
Trump administration’s mixed and divisive record with HBCUs, diversity
As the Emancipator notes, these funding decisions come as the Trump administration has a mixed track record with HBCUs and the organizations that support them. When Trump issued an April 2025 executive order that promised federal support for HBCUs but omitted language about diversity, equity and inclusion, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson dismissed the administration’s gestures as “photo ops or public relations campaigns.” Johnson condemned the 2025 executive order as “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.” By contrast, the United Negro College Fund and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund are among the organizations that have praised the administration’s latest round of investment in HBCUs. “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,” said Lodriguez Murray, senior vice president of public policy and government affairs at the United Negro College Fund, to the Emancipator.
Trump touts his record of providing funding for HBCUs and claims that he has done more for the schools than any other president in history. Critics dispute this claim, pointing for instance to the Biden administration’s claim to have invested $16 billion into HBCUs during that administration’s term in office. The Biden numbers include such funding as direct federal grants to HBCUs, congressionally approved funding for these schools, and financial aid to students attending HBCUs, among other things, making direct comparisons to Trump’s administration complicated. The money allocated to HBCUs by Trump, meanwhile, not only comes from diverting funds from other minority-serving institutions but has also been coupled with an aggressive campaign against diversity initiatives. The Trump administration has rolled back DEI efforts and implemented an expansive interpretation of the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision against affirmative action, using the ruling to attack nearly all race-conscious college programming.
Altogether, the Trump administration’s policies have painted a picture of a government offering assistance to some minority-serving institutions and programs with one hand while taking away funding and opportunities with the other hand. And just as the SFFA case that ended affirmative action was seen by many as an explicit attempt to divide minority students, Trump’s funding of HBCUs and TCCUs is being condemned as a ploy to pit minority communities against one another.