President Donald Trump is ruffling feathers in the black community and this time it’s about his stance on HBCUs.
According to reports, on Friday (May 5), Trump alluded to an idea that he may no longer continue to implement the 25-year-old Historically Black College and University Capital Financing Program under the belief that it may be unconstitutional.
After signing H.R. 244, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, Trump singled out several programs that benefit people of color, one of them being the HBCU Capital Financing Program, as resources “that allocate benefits on the basis of race, ethnicity, and gender.”
Trump claims that he and his administration would treat the various programs “in a manner consistent with the requirement to afford equal protection of the law under the Due Process Clause of the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment.”’
According to Politico and his signing statement that was published on the White House website, Trump lays out a wide range of programs and other provisions in the spending bill that would “unconstitutionally” limit his power as the president. He also stated that “where the bill conflicts with the White House’s interpretation of the president’s powers under the Constitution, he will go with the Constitution.”
In a statement from an unnamed White House spokesperson given to Politico, he claims that similar to how presidents before him have done, “President Trump has identified certain provisions in the appropriations bill that could, in some circumstances, conflict with his constitutional authority and duties. The brief, routine signing statement simply indicates that the president will interpret those provisions consistent with the Constitution.
He added, “The important thing to realize is the president was able to secure big wins for his priorities in this spending bill, including more than $25 billion in additional funding for the military, $1.52 billion for border security, a permanent extension of health coverage for retired miners and a three-year extension of the D.C. school choice program.”
Supporters of HBCUs who currently hold congressional seats vehemently opposes Trump’s stance, including Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.), ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, and Cedric Richmond (D-La.), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. I a joint statement issued by both members, the two say that his statement is not only based on misinformation but that they also strongly urge him to not to act on his ideas.
“Trump’s statement is not only misinformed factually, it is not grounded in any serious constitutional analysis,” the statement read. “For a president who pledged to reach out to African-Americans and other minorities, this statement is stunningly careless and divisive. We urge him to reconsider immediately.”
His statement also seek to challenge other extremely vital educational based initiatives such as after school programs and Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native education.
The HBCU Capital Financing Program was created in 1992 to provide federal loans to historically black colleges and universities for construction of buildings and other facilities.
It seems as if the photo-op with President Donald Trump and the presidents of many Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) was all for naught.
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