Rep. Alma Adams, a North Carolina Democrat and longtime advocate for historically Black colleges and universities, used her closing remarks in a recent House hearing to level sharp criticism at the Trump administration’s approach to higher education. She says that under Trump and congressional Republicans, college has become less accessible and more expensive, leaving students and families with fewer options and heavier burdens.
Adams pointed to what she called the “Big Beautiful Bill,” a package of higher education provisions backed by the Trump administration that she says stripped away critical support for students. Among those provisions, she argued, were cuts to grants, reductions in federal student aid resources, and measures that tilted the balance toward families paying more out of pocket.
“Paying for college shouldn’t require families to jump through hoops and navigate opaque, confusing systems without help,” Adams said. She highlighted the importance of the Office of Federal Student Aid as a lifeline for students, only to see its role diminished in recent years.
Her critique went beyond transparency. Adams described a higher education landscape marked by steep tuition costs, ballooning loan debt, and gaps in aid—gaps that first-generation students and those attending HBCUs often struggle most to fill. Drawing on her own experience as a first-generation student, she underscored how critical grants and scholarships are, especially forms of aid that don’t saddle young people with decades of repayment.
The broader point Adams pressed was that the administration’s approach left colleges to manage affordability issues on their own, even as federal support shrank. She said, “College affordability will not be magically solved by bullying institutions into providing transparency.”
Adams framed Trump’s record as an “unfettered attack” on higher education, contrasting the administration’s cuts with what she sees as a need to prioritize affordability and opportunity for all—not just students with wealth or connections.
