Here’s How Trump-Era Cuts Are Undermining Programs That Serve Black Communities

While the SNAP debacle drew public attention, it is only one piece of a larger pattern. Across federal agencies, dozens of programs serving underserved communities have been targeted for elimination or rollback, including those under the “Cuts to Woke Programs” push. For many Black Americans, these threatened programs are essential pathways to education, health, housing and economic security.

Here are 13 programs, caught in the Trump Administration’s crosshairs. Some face drastic funding cuts, others are tied up in lawsuits and some have already been wiped from view.

Child Care and Development Fund

Black Americans pay more of their annual pay for childcare than other racial groups and earn less money (76 cents for every dollar earned by white workers) than other groups. The $12 billion Child Care and Development Fund has helped offset these costs by providing critical subsidies to 1.4 million children in low-income families.

Earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) abruptly froze funds to five Democrat-led states, asserting that it caused “operational chaos.” As of Jan. 9, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration cannot legally block the federal child care subsidies in these states — at least for now.

Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) Discretionary Grants

The Department of Education stopped $350 million in grants to Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) in September, citing that racial and ethnic quotas were discriminatory. MSIs include Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs)—colleges that enroll many Black students but don’t have a historical designation. These PBIs lost funding for tutoring, labs and minority STEM programs.

Funds will be redirected as a one-time payment to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribal Colleges, leaving PBIs without a reliable replacement and raising fears of service cuts and long-term funding chaos for HBCUs.

Minority Business Development Agency

In 2024, the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) secured $1.5 billion in capital, $2.6 billion in contracts, and more than 11,000 jobs. The only federal agency dedicated solely to minority entrepreneurs, MBDA generated strong returns while accounting for just 0.8 percent of the Commerce Department’s $14.8 billion budget.

In March 2025, a Trump executive order targeted MBDA for elimination under DOGE, placing nearly all staff on leave. A November court ruling blocked the shutdown, but operations were never fully restored.

CDFI Fund’s Equitable Recovery Program

In March 2025, the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund’s Equitable Recovery Program was directed to end funding for racial equity-focused lending. This included small business loans and affordable housing in minority areas.

The CDFI Fund supported low-income communities hardest hit by COVID-19, helping local lenders expand staff, technology and ability to meet urgent needs.

TRIO Programs

You may not be familiar with the umbrella term TRIO, but you’ve likely heard of its Upward Bound program, which has long offered “fundamental support” such as mentorship, work-study programs, and economic literacy to low-income high school students preparing for college. The dismantling of TRIO left 46,000 students in the Upward Bound, Talent Search, Student Support Services and McNair programs without critical support—from tutoring to financial aid guidance, while forcing staff layoffs nationwide, according to Inside Higher Ed.

Department of Housing and Urban Development

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides affordable housing, rental assistance, community development funds, and fair housing enforcement for millions of Americans, including a disproportionate share of Black households. The Trump administration proposes a 44 percent cut to HUD funding and a nearly $33 billion cut to overall funding. This includes $60 million in fair housing initiatives, approximately $27 billion in rental assistance, nearly $5 million in community development funds and a whopping $532 million in programs that combat homelessness, according to Bipartisan Policy Center.

Teacher Training Grants

As the nation faced a teacher shortage crisis, the Department of Education abruptly terminated $600 million in congressionally approved grants meant to train qualified teachers nationwide, citing indoctrination concerns. The programs improved outcomes for underserved students in places like Los Angeles, rural Tennessee, and New Orleans.

Last February, the Teacher Quality Partnership Program and the Supporting Effective Educator Development Program were cut as part of a broader attack on so-called “divisive ideologies” like Critical Race Theory and social justice, according to the Department of Education. The move dismantled teacher pipelines and deepened shortages in high-need districts.

Community Services Block Grants

The administration’s 2026 budget proposes eliminating $770 million for low-income families and communities through the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG). According to the National Community Action Fund, CSBG has helped more than 10 million people achieve economic independence with housing, nutrition, utility, and transportation services. CSGB has supported 4.4 million vulnerable people, including children, seniors and people with disabilities.

EPA Environmental Justice Program

In March 2025, the Office of Environmental Justice closed after three decades, ending the Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant program and 400 other grants. Nearly $3 billion in federal funding to address disproportionate pollution in low-income and minority communities was lost, according to the Associated Press. Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse called the move an “illegal termination” of EPA grants.

Ongoing legal challenges leave the future of  critical community protections and decades of progress in environmental justice uncertain.

AmeriCorps

In April 2025, the Trump administration took AmeriCorps to its knees, placing nearly 90% of the agency’s staff on administrative leave, effectively canceling $400 million in grants for about 30,000 volunteers. In June 2025, after a multi-state lawsuit argued that the funds had already been appropriated, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction that paused personnel and funding cuts and forced the release of $184 million in withheld funds.

Public Housing Capital Fund

Public housing is one of the last remaining lifelines for Black families locked out of real estate ownership by decades of systemic barriers to homeownership. HUD’s Public Housing Capital Fund pays for critical repairs and upgrades to public housing developments where Black residents are disproportionately represented. Trump’s latest budget proposes a 30% cut to the fund. As of January 2026, Congress is still considering the reduction, leaving families and housing authorities in limbo.

Legal Services Corporation Grants

The Legal Services Corporation (LSC), the “largest national funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans,” helped more than 6.4 million people in its 50th year, investing $526 million in every state and territory, according to the 2024 annual report. Though Congress approved  $560 million in 2025, the Trump administration seeks to annihilate the organization, ending legal aid support for nearly 3 million Americans facing disaster recovery, housing instability, medical debt and domestic abuse. On Jan. 8, the House voted to fund LSC at $540 million. The Senate vote is expected this week.

Minority Health & Disparities Research Grants

For generations, medical bias and underrepresentation in research have left Black Americans with disparities in chronic conditions, maternal health and overall health. The NIH Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Grants aim to close these gaps by studying health inequities.

According to CBS News, Trump’s 2025 funding cuts canceled $2 billion in federal research grants, impacting 74,000 clinical trial participants, and stalling studies on diseases like cancer, according to CBS News. The 2026 budget proposal would cut approximately 40 percent of the NIH budget.