President Trump is proposing significantly reducing federal funding for Howard University, potentially creating a funding gap for the nation’s only federally chartered Historically Black College and University (HBCU).
In his budget request to Congress on Friday, Trump proposed cutting $65 million in federal funding for Howard. The move would reduce the D.C. school’s federal funding to 2021 levels and, according to Trump, offer it more sustainable support.
Howard received $300 million in federal appropriations for the 2025 fiscal year, an increase from $216 million in 2021.
The proposal comes days after Trump signed an order establishing a White House initiative on HBCUs to “deliver high-quality education to a growing number of students.” Earlier this week, the president also told NewsNation that HBCUs should not be concerned about federal funding cuts to their budgets.
“I got them more money than they ever dreamt possible, and they’re in great shape now,” Trump said, referring to the 2019 bipartisan bill that permanently provides more than $250 million a year to HBCUs.
“They have long-term financing,” he added. “Nobody did that but Donald Trump.”
However, by the end of their term, the Biden-Harris administration had invested more than $17 billion in HBCUs.
Still, HBCUs receive significantly less funding than predominantly white institutions. Black land-grant universities have been underfunded by more than $12 billion over the last 30 years, according to a 2022 Forbes analysis.
But HBCUs play a vital role in providing college-access for Black students.
The schools account for only 3 percent of all U.S. colleges and universities but 10 percent of all Black students enrolled in college. Forty percent of all Black engineers graduated from an HBCU, along with 40 percent of all Black members of Congress, 50 percent of all Black lawyers and 80 percent of all Black judges.
About 30 percent of Howard’s budget relies on federal funding. Trump’s proposed cuts could lead to the loss of academic programs, faculty and student services.
The Hill has reached out to the university for comment.
