Black colleges aren't worried about working with Trump; they're focused on Congress instead
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We’ve watched Donald Trump spend the last week having a meltdown on Twitter about Omarosa Manigualt Newman spilling the tea about her experience as an employee in the Trump administration. In all the drama, it’s easy to forget that she had an actual joBlack colleges aren't worried about working with Trump; they're focused on Congress instead
We’ve watched Donald Trump spend the last week having a meltdown on Twitter about Omarosa Manigualt Newman spilling the tea about her experience as an employee in the Trump administration. In all the drama, it’s easy to forget that she had an actual job (at least in theory) in which she was, among other things, supposed to be the liaison between the White House and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Though the administration staged a lovely photo-op with black college leaders and penned an executive order about them at the beginning of last year, nothing actually happened. HBCUs have never had any real engagement with the Trump White House and have had little contact since Omarosa was fired in December. Of course, in her book Omarosa is saying that the administration completely mucked up establishing possible relationships with HCBUs. She sites Betsy DeVos as the main culprit—whom you may remember was vigorously and appropriately booed by the students at Bethune-Cookman University during last year’s graduation ceremony. In her book Omarosa claims that not only did DeVos think Bethune-Cookman students weren’t smart enough to understand her education agenda (hence the booing) but that she also was to blame for the confusion around last year’s White House conference for HBCUs. So now that Omarosa is no longer employed by the White House and is determined to set fire to everything and everyone in her path (and sell tons of books while she’s at it), what happens to HBCUs under the Trump administration? Well, according to black college presidents, they aren’t worried about it. The Atlantic reports that while hanging out in the White House was a nice opportunity, they’ve always been more concerned with a good relationship with Congress than with a good relationship with Trump and company. Why? Because a good relationship with Congress can often be financially beneficial for their institutions. In the February budget deal, lawmakers authorized the Education Department to forgive $330 million of debt related to rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina that was incurred by four black colleges in Louisiana and Mississippi. The administration forgave that debt in March. Read more