The Federal Freeze & How Trump Played In Our Faces

President Trump shook the nation to its core when it was announced that all government funding would be frozen. Any programs, schools, and nonprofits that relied on governmental funding to not only serve their community but also pay their employees were hit with confusion and chaos as millions of Americans wondered what would happen next. However, we didn’t have to wonder very long because judges from across the nation banded together to pause the freeze. 

And while this injunction has given us all a moment to breathe a little bit easier despite the drama that has ensued, it comes as no surprise that Trump played not only in our faces but with the livelihoods of millions of Americans. From small babies to those in elementary school, to the big kids up in college, no one was safe from the devastating impact of Trump’s iron fist.

The freeze was set to impact a wide range of initiatives, including education, healthcare, housing, and entrepreneurship—areas where federal support has historically played a critical role in closing the gaps for marginalized communities. Any programs that were designed to address the disparities in those communities—funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), health care services, and affordable housing are now potentially jeopardizing any progress that has been made to address these inequities.

HBCUs have been historically underfunded by the government for years. Despite these institutions being around for nearly 200 years and being the reason why hundreds of thousands of Black students are professionally equipped for a myriad of jobs in Corporate America. However, with this potential federal freeze, HBCUs can be negatively impacted now more than ever.

Paul Quinn College (PQC), for instance, is the oldest HBCU West of the Mississippi River in Dallas, Texas. In 2025, the majority of the students of PQC are Pell Grant eligible and rely on the programming and service of FAFSA to get through school. So what could a freeze mean for them?

When speaking with PQC’s President, Dr. Michael J. Sorrell, I asked him how this freeze could affect Paul Quinn College and the students it served. He replied, “There are going to be changes. Those changes will require doing a different approach, and you wait to see the approach that the changes require. More specifically for us [Paul Quinn College], it’s understanding at the end of the day what will this really look like.”

I followed up with how he, as the president of a school where students rely on Pell Grants and scholarships, feels about the limbo of the freeze.

“I do not ever want my students to face a restriction on their ability to develop themselves in accordance with their abilities and aspirations and work ethic.”

Paul Quinn College is not the only HBCU that should be wary about the freeze.  According to Vaughn Wilson’s HBCU Gameday article, Trump federal loan freeze could result in HBCU closures, HBCU students are heavily reliant upon FAFSA, and Federal Aid to fund higher education. “It is estimated that 75 percent of HBCU students fund their education on Pell Grants, while another nearly 15 percent rely on student loans. The absence of both of these funding sources would cripple the financial infrastructure and possibly lead to the Spring semester being canceled.”

Karen McCarthy, NASFAA’s Vice President of Public Policy and Federal Relations, released the following statement, “We are actively collaborating with our contacts at the Department of Education to assess this directive’s potential impact on Title IV and Financial Aid Administration.”

The common consensus is that this freeze has the potential to disrupt educational opportunities. Programs that fund scholarships, grants, and infrastructure at HBCUs could see reductions, limiting access to higher education for Black students. Specifically, since low-income students will have even more obstacles to jump through to reach higher education. Furthermore, initiatives that were dedicated to lessening the workforce gap inequity in the Black community, could now potentially be halted as well. 

However, this not only could affect Black students in higher education. The consequences of this federal freeze could affect even those who are as young as a few months old. 

The Head Start Program is a program that is designed to help with child development from birth to age five, that is primarily for low-income families. Without this extra assistance, parents will have to leave their jobs and/or cut back on hours to take care of their children. Which only adds to the poverty and pay disparity that is a crisis in America.

This freeze has the potential to impact school programs that are designed to ensure that students are eating in school on free or reduced lunch. With the funding being withheld, students will have to find another way to eat at school despite already lacking the resources to have access to quality meals at home. 

And even though an injunction was placed the detrimental ramifications of the news of a federal funding freeze had already been done. People across the nation are preparing themselves for the absolute worst state of mind because of the amount of mental turmoil that is coming out of the White House every day.

From mass deportations to the banning of DEI in the federal government, to the LGBQTIA+ community’s rights and humanity being stripped away with every piece of paper, there is seemingly no glimpse of light at the end. It’s a never-ending tunnel of more news that is crumbling the American Republic day by day. 

Zahiyah Carter is a Gen Z writer based in Dallas. Her work focuses on topics that matter most to young people, from social issues and pop culture to technology and beyond.