U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii, holds a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on April 22, 2026. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON — Democrats, advocates, students and leaders in Congress sharply criticized attempts by President Donald Trump’s administration to eliminate funding on Wednesday Institutions serving minorities in the higher education sector.
U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono led a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol calling on the government to fully fund and protect the more than 800 Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) that enroll millions of students of color. Many come from low-income households or are the first in their family to attend college.
“Donald Trump is fundamentally doing everything he can to dismantle support for education in this country, and what is happening to institutions that serve minorities is part of that broader attack,” the Hawaii Democrat said.
“Under the false pretense of combating discrimination, this regime restricts access to higher education for underserved and underrepresented groups, and there are millions of students served by these programs,” she added.
In addition to advocates, leaders and students, Hirono was joined by other Democrats: Sen. Alex Padilla, chairman of the Senate Hispanic-Serving Institutions Caucus; Rep. Mark Takano, first vice chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus; Rep. Juan Vargas of California of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; and Rep. Danny Davis of Illinois of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Padilla, of California, said MSIs “better train the future leaders, entrepreneurs (and) servants” that communities need.
“This is what we stand for. This is what we are fighting for, and it is why we call on Republican colleagues to join us in repelling this administration’s threats and maintaining our decades of unwavering support of minority-serving institutions in the interests of these young people, their families, their communities and our country.”
Takano, also of California, said: “Congress funded these programs and we will fight for them and they cannot confiscate the funds.”
He added: “Congress has the power over the budget, and we will make sure we hold this administration accountable.”
Programs described as “racially discriminatory.”
Trump — who has sought to end diversity, equity and inclusion policies in schools — has proposed cutting a total of $354 million in funding for minority-serving institutions as part of his platform Budget request for fiscal year 2027.
The US Department of Education in September $350 million gutted and reprogrammed in discretionary funds that support MSIs over claims that the programs are “racially discriminatory” for Black, Asian, Indigenous and Hispanic students and more.
The agency moved soon after Redirect $495 million in additional funding to historically black colleges and universities and tribal colleges.
The Ministry of Justice issued a statement in December finding that several grant programs for minority-serving institutions were “unconstitutional.”
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon agreed to the opinion, and the agency said later that month that it was “currently evaluating the full impact” of the opinion on affected programs.
The president signed the law in February a spending package That funds the Department of Education $79 billion this fiscal year and “also increases funding for all Title III and V programs that support HBCUs, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and other minority-serving institutions,” according to Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Summary.
