- Trump’s budget aims to reduce the maximum Pell Grant
- TRIO grants canceled at a pair of community colleges
Trump’s budget aims to reduce the maximum Pell Grant
The Trump administration last week released its full fiscal year 2026 (FY 26) budget request, with the funding amounts it seeks for all discretionary programs. As AACC’s Jim Hermes covered in the Community College Daily, the administration previously unveiled a so-called “skinny budget request,” which provided just top-line budget priorities. The more-detailed budget included a 22.6% cut to discretionary, non-defense funding, including a 15% cut to funding for the Education Department. It also proposed eliminating or dramatically reducing funding for key programs, including TRIO and GEAR UP, Federal Work Study, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), Adult Education, Childcare Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS), and the HEA Title III-A Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP).
The full budget request more clearly maps where the administration seeks further reductions in spending. Most notably, it would reduce the maximum Pell Grant award to $5,710 for the 2026-27 award year. This proposed reduction represents a significant shift. While the maximum grant award has stayed the same for the last few funding cycles (in part because Congress has not passed regular appropriations bills), this comes after a longer trend of steady and, in some cases, significant increases to the maximum Pell Grant award.
The administration argues that the proposed cut to the maximum award is necessary due to the looming shortfall in the Pell program’s reserve fund. The shortfall has occurred, in part, because of flat discretionary appropriations for the program and expanded aid eligibility through the FAFSA Simplification Act.
As Pell grants are uniquely funded through a mix of discretionary and mandatory funding, this means that additional funding can go toward the program through the annual appropriations process and through the all-important budget reconciliation process. However, it also means that the program is vulnerable to cuts to save money through both processes. While community colleges urge Congress to shore up funding for the Pell Grant program through any available vehicle, AACC continues to oppose cuts to student eligibility and support, especially for the lowest-income students.
TRIO grants canceled at a pair of community colleges
At least two community colleges last week received notices that their TRIO Upward Bound programs would not be continued.
As covered in the Community College Daily, the colleges were informed that their grants would not be continued because, in the opinion of the Education Department (ED), the projects “reflect the prior administration’s priorities and policy preferences” and “violate the letter or purpose of Federal civil rights law; conflict with the Department’s policy of prioritizing merit, fairness, and excellence in education; undermine the well-being of the students these programs are intended to help; or constitute an inappropriate use of federal funds.”
An ED spokesperson confirmed that more than 100 Upward Bound programs were continued and that canceled projects would have the opportunity to ask for an appeal. It is not yet clear what this action will mean for other TRIO programs, including Upward Bound programs that start after June 1 and Student Support Services projects.
While the Trump administration is no fan of federal TRIO programs, calling them “a relic of the past” and proposing eliminating all funding for FY 26, Congress does not agree. TRIO has broad bipartisan support. Both House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma) and Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) are members of the Congressional TRIO Caucus and strong supporters of the program. Collins was joined by Sen. Shelley Moore-Capito (R-West Virginia) in grilling Education Secretary Linda McMahon on the proposed cuts to TRIO during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing this week, signaling a tough road ahead for the Trump Administration to eliminate funding for the program. It is not yet clear how Congress will respond to the recent grant cancellations.