Since the start of his second term, President Donald Trump has signed 143 executive orders. A few of them, focused on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs, could affect the way universities like Howard receive federal funding.
Executive Order 13999, titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunities,” and Executive Order 14151, titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful DEI Government Programs and Preferencing” aim to terminate DEI initiatives, both within the federal government and institutions of higher education.
As stated in Executive Order 13999, the Attorney General and Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will report to the Assistant of the President with strategies to “end illegal discrimination and preferences, including DEI.” Institutions of higher education with endowments over $1 billion are listed as entities that will be investigated.
The 2019-2024 strategic plan, “Howard Forward,” outlines one of the university’s main financial goals “to elevate the endowment to $1 billion to increase support for student scholarships and infrastructural investments.” According to the strategic plan in the last five years the university’s endowment grew from $693 million to $927 million.
In both executive orders DEI policies are described as “demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences.” Howard has a Diversity and Inclusion, rather than Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office.
The university’s diversity and inclusion initiatives are connected to programs on campus like the Office of Intercultural Affairs and LGBTQ+ resource center and accommodations.
The Office of Intercultural Affairs and Office of University Communications released a statement to The Hilltop regarding diversity and inclusion programs and initiatives on campus in response to the recent executive orders.
In the statement, the university affirmed their continued investment and advocacy in services that promote “inclusivity” and support for the student body provided by the Office of Intercultural Affairs and LGBTQ+ Resource Center, and the university at large.
Specifically, they wrote “culturally competent support services” including the Lavender Reception, Lavender Graduation, International Conference, International Graduation and participation in World Pride still exist. The Lavender Reception and Graduation are both two LGBTQ+ events hosted by the university.
The statement continued, “We are rooted in the pursuit of excellence, social justice and impartiality, and we understand the critical importance of creating spaces where every student, regardless of nationality, gender identity or sexual orientation, feels seen, safe and celebrated.”
Executive order 13999 stipulates a complete overview for the funding of higher education institutions that receive federal grants or participate in a federal student loan program. Following this stipulation, by May 21 the Attorney General and Secretary of Education will jointly issue guidance on how federal funds will be allocated to universities.
Institutions including Brown and Columbia have experienced significant cuts to their federal funding. Both universities lost millions in research grants cut or frozen in response to Pro-Palestinian protests on campus.
Similarly, on April 11, the DOE, Department of Health (DOH) and the Government Services Administration (GSA) sent a letter to Harvard University detailing a list of requirements surrounding merit-based hiring and admissions reform—including a discontinuation of all DEI programs on campus and a reform of all programs that have an alleged record of antisemitism. After the university announced that they would not comply with these orders, the federal government announced that they would freeze more than $2.2 billion in grants to the university.
Dr. Sosayna Jones, a Howard professor of educational leadership and expert in higher education governance and policy spoke to how cuts on DEI policies are affecting universities nationwide.
“We’re seeing rollbacks, especially in our PWIs [predominantly white institutions], of language referring to DEI and target marginalized populations,” she said. “Those who really care about DEI and are committed to it either are sticking to their guns and just dealing with the fallout, or they’re being more creative.”
Federal Funding Freeze and the Elimination of Department of Education
In January the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released Memo M-25-13 stating “Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance.”
Most recently, in response to the federal funding freeze, U.S. District judge Loren L. Alikhan issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on the OMB to block the agency from pausing disbursement of federal grants and loans. This order led to a preliminary injunction, the court order that paused the funding freeze, on Feb. 25.
Bloomberg Law defined a preliminary injunction as temporary relief that preserves the status quo until the courts decide on the merit of the case.
Howard has received a cut in their budget as of this year. In the DOE’s Fiscal Year 2025 financial budget $297 million was requested for the university which is $57 million less than the previous fiscal year. As last reported in Fiscal Year 2023 Howard received a total of $354,018 in funding from the DOE for that academic year.
As a professor, Jones called this freeze a “huge disruption” and said many institutions are preparing for this with hiring freezes and financial preparation.
“They’re doing their own budgets and trying to cut the fat in preparation for whatever’s coming down the pipe,” she said. “But if this goes through, even temporarily, it can disrupt and impact discretionary grants awarded through competitive processes.”
In addition to the funding freeze, an executive order to dissolve the DOE was signed on March 20. The order, called “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities,” facilitates closing the DOE in order to give authority of education back to states and local communities, according to the White House.
Jones argued that cuts to the DOE are a more imminent threat than the executive orders because of the widespread consequences from loss of personnel.
“So, eliminating or even proposing the cuts that he has of staff will affect how the financial aid that the Department of Education manages is managed,” she said
Jones emphasized that the Act of Congress, a law passed by both the Senate and House and signed by the president, would be required to fully dismantle the DOE.
The DOE has funding opportunities specifically for HBCUs, such as the Strengthening HBCUs program, an annual discretionary appropriation intended to bolster the academic, administrative and fiscal capabilities of HBCUs.
Some of the primary purposes of these funds are allocated to the construction, renovation and maintenance of the campus. In addition they can be used for scientific or laboratory equipment.
Howard also has its own direct appropriation program within the DOE that gives some financial support for construction, development, improvement, endowment and maintenance of the university and Howard hospital, according to the DOE website. The main portions of the funding are split between academic programs, an endowment program and the hospital.
Consequently, changes to the DOE could affect financial aid.
President Trump signed an executive order on April 24 that addresses the funding allocated for HBCUs, the first executive order from the current administration on this issue. The primary goals of the initiative involve increasing the private sector role to strengthen the planning and development of infrastructure at HBCUs and enhancing their “capabilities to serve our nation’s young adults” through collaborative efforts such as the HBCU PARTNERS Act.
This is a law that requires certain agencies to strengthen the capacity of HBCUs to participate in federal programs. As an extension of this new executive order there is a plan to establish the President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs. It will have representatives in philanthropy, education, business, finance, entrepreneurship, innovation, private foundations and current HBCU presidents.
In response OUC sent an email to the school and said the executive order “continues a national commitment to and reaffirms the enduring value and essential contributions of these institutions to our nation’s educational, economic and cultural landscape.”
The email described the ways in which the executive order is “essential to the elevation” of HBCUs and explained that the order directs federal agencies, private sector partners and philanthropic organizations to collaborate with HBCUs in their work.
Despite the introduction of this order, the DOE holds a direct link to student finances. The department manages and distributes federal financial aid, like pell grants and student loans. A transfer of the department’s loan portfolio, or a disruption to the DOE could create uncertainty for students because of their reliance on federal aid to fund their tuition.
Statistics from the Education Data Initiative show that 630,000 students benefit from federal student aid as of 2025. This number is the highest for Black students with 80.6% of them qualifying for federal aid. This same database found that Black students receive the pell grant at a higher rate than other ethnic demographics as well.
Outside of the jurisdiction of the federal government, Jones highlighted the role that external organizations play in securing funds for educational institutions.
“There are a lot of long-time advocates in Washington, D.C., policy organizations, think tanks and activists who are working on this, who are speaking up and highlighting the consequences of these cuts,” she said. “So I have hope, and I’m not going to catastrophize right now.”
