How the Trump Administration Pause on Federal Funding Could Affect the Black Community

Just two weeks into his second presidential term, Donald Trump’s agenda is taking hold and already having devastating results.

The New York Times reported that a White House memo issued Tuesday (January 28) ordered a sweeping freeze on federal grants and loans by 5 p.m. Because the memo’s language was vague, many federal-assisted programs and non-profit agencies that were already set to receive funding were left in a state of confusion.

The executive move will potentially impact recipients who receive benefits from federal government programs such as Medicaid, SNAP benefits, and even public universities.

According to the White House, freezing the loans and grants was necessary to coincide with the numerous executive orders Trump recently signed. Included in the executive actions were the ending of DEI initiatives and the removal of protections for transgender people.

Just minutes before the freeze was set to take effect,  District Judge Loren L. AliKhan, a federal judge in the District of Columbia,  temporarily blocked the freezing of trillions of dollars.

The administrative stay, which will last until Monday afternoon, was brought on by lawsuits from New York Attorney General Letitia James and nonprofit groups such as the National Head Start Association, that receive federal money. Another court hearing is scheduled that morning to consider the issue.

Although the Office of Management and Budget issued follow-up guidance noting that programs, including Medicaid, would not be affected by the freeze, some of the damage has already been done. The freeze order has already disrupted Medicaid, Head Start, and a variety of other programs, leaving millions of Americans in flux about their federal employment, healthcare and other services.

By Wednesday afternoon (January 29), the Trump administration had rescinded its freeze on federal grants and loans, according to the Times.

With an extreme, right-wing agenda quickly becoming a reality, the question becomes, “How would the Black community be affected?”

According to the latest statistics from Medicaid.gov, roughly 20 percent of recipients are African American. Also, Black people make up 27 percent of all SNAP beneficiaries, and a potential freeze would be detrimental to the most vulnerable citizens of our society.

When it comes to government employees, Black Americans make up about 19% or 378,000 of the federal workforce. The freeze on funding correlates with Trump’s plan to shrink the federal workforce.

“We’re talking about tens of thousands of Black workers who could lose their jobs,” said Michelle Holder, an associate professor of economics at John Jay College, City University of New York. “It would be pretty devastating to the Black community writ large, just in terms of loss of income, a loss of benefits, potentially loss of health insurance.”

Without question, the economic impact disproportionately affects Black Americans. The results would widen the already deep chasms in employment, education, healthcare, housing and education.  Essentially, the freeze will accelerate the rate of Black poverty. While the freeze has been halted in the short term, the potential devastation for millions of Black people 

Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP, issued a statement responding to Trump’s executive orders and how the most vulnerable members of the Black community were one of the main targets.

“This is all part of a calculated strategy to redefine the role of government, privatize essential public services and further discrimination,” Johnson argued. “Elections have consequences, and it’s clear that this election has put a target on Black America’s back.” 

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