Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) spearheaded a recent bicameral letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon saying a recent reallocation of funds away from minority-serving institutions (MSIs) to other MSIs is illegal.
The Context
In September, the Department of Education announced that a $235 million one-time investment would be made to strengthen Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs).
As Sen. Gallego and the other signatories noted, the money came from mandatory funds used for other minority-serving institutions, a reallocation authority the Department of Education does not have.
The rationale, a December 2025 Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) opinion suggesting that discretionary and mandatory grants to other MSIs were unconstitutional, has not been decided in court and lacks statutory authority.
Moreover, the first Trump Administration signed the bipartisan Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education Act (FUTURE Act) into law, which permanently authorizes $255 million in mandatory funding for HBCUs, TCCUs, and MSIs.
What Lawmakers are Saying
"This administration unnecessarily reallocated half of these funds in order to put out a press release leading up to midterm elections touting how much funding it was providing to HBCUs and Tribal Colleges — while robbing MSIs of investments Congress has provided them," Sen. Gallego wrote, adding, "It is offensive that the Trump administration is pitting these institutions of higher education and the students they serve against each other, and going to extra lengths to do so."
The Arizona Senator further emphasized that "mandatory funding for [these institutions] — as provided by the FUTURE Act — cannot be reallocated for other purposes or programs without explicit authorization from Congress. ED does not have the unilateral authority to reallocate these funds."
Gallego concluded that the funds taken from the other MSI programs must be restored, and "increases in funding for HBCUs and TCCUs should not come at the expense of other critical institutions of higher education."
