# Democrats, advocates blast Trump proposal to cut minority-college funding  
**Published:** 2026-04-27T09:30:56.000Z  
**Source:** [Kentucky Lantern](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/27/trump-proposal-to-halt-funding-for-minority-serving-colleges-criticized-by-dems-advocates/)  
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**Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/democrats-advocates-blast-trump-proposal-to-cut-minority-college-funding

Congressional Democrats, education advocates, students and college leaders blasted the Trump administration's push to eliminate federal funding for minority-serving institutions during a Capitol press conference Wednesday, warning that the cuts would harm millions of students nationwide—including [Kentucky State University](https://www.kysu.edu/) and other schools across the Commonwealth.

[U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono](https://www.hirono.senate.gov/), a Hawaii Democrat, led the effort calling on the administration to fully fund and protect more than 800 MSIs that collectively enroll millions of students of color, many from low-income households or first-generation college attendees.

"Donald Trump is doing all he can basically to dismantle support for education in this country, and what is happening to minority-serving institutions is part of this all-out attack," Hirono said, adding that the administration is "limiting access to higher education for underserved and underrepresented groups."

The push comes as President Donald Trump's [fiscal 2027 budget request](https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/budget_fy2027.pdf) proposes eliminating $354 million in discretionary funding for MSIs. The proposal builds on previous efforts by the Trump administration to gut support for these institutions based on claims that MSI programs are "racially discriminatory."

Last September, the U.S. Department of Education halted $350 million in grants for MSIs while redirecting $495 million to historically Black colleges and universities and tribal colleges. In December, the Justice Department issued an opinion labeling several MSI grant programs "unconstitutional," prompting Education Secretary Linda McMahon to align the department with that position.

Kentucky State University, a historically Black public university in Frankfort, stands among the affected institutions. [The university has faced historical underfunding, with federal officials previously documenting a $172 million shortfall over three decades.](https://www.insidehighered.com/news/institutions/minority-serving-institutions/2026/04/07/new-bill-tightens-control-over-kentucky)

Hirono was joined by fellow Democrats including [U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla](https://padilla.senate.gov/) of California, chair of the Senate Hispanic-Serving Institutions Caucus, and [Rep. Mark Takano](https://takano.house.gov/) of California, first vice chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

"Congress funded these programs, and we will fight for them," Takano said, emphasizing that Congress has "the power of the purse" to hold the administration accountable.

The effort reflects a broader Democratic defense of federal education programs. [Congress previously rejected Trump's attempts to eliminate MSI funding](https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/) in the fiscal 2026 budget, instead increasing support for Title III and V programs that benefit minority-serving institutions.

Critics note that MSI programs have enjoyed bipartisan support for decades, with [Congress establishing them on a bipartisan basis in 1986](https://www.congress.gov/) and successive administrations of both parties funding them since then.

## Sources

- [Kentucky Lantern](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/27/trump-proposal-to-halt-funding-for-minority-serving-colleges-criticized-by-dems-advocates/)
- [Trump Fiscal 2027 Budget Proposal](https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/budget_fy2027.pdf)
- [Inside Higher Ed article on Kentucky State University](https://www.insidehighered.com/news/institutions/minority-serving-institutions/2026/04/07/new-bill-tightens-control-over-kentucky)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Kentucky Lantern, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/27/trump-proposal-to-halt-funding-for-minority-serving-colleges-criticized-by-dems-advocates/.