The latest budget proposal from Donald Trump looks to continue his agenda of slashing and burning the Education Department by cutting its funding by $12 billion and in addition to this, contained provisions that cut programs targeted to low income students who are preparing for college and funding for the nation’s only federally funded HBCU, Howard University. According to The New York Times, the $64 million in funding that Trump wants eliminated for the university and the elimination of $1.6 billion in K-12 programs known as TRIO and GEAR UP are a continuation of Trump’s expressed mandate to close the Department of Education.As The Hill reported, the cut in funding to Howard University is related to a payment the federal government made to build the Howard University Hospital, which the Trump administration said in its budget proposal is no longer needed because the hospital has been completed.
