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Trump’s Agenda Is a Direct Threat to the Black Middle Class

November 18, 2025

The Trump administration's policies are systematically dismantling pathways to middle-class prosperity for Black Americans, despite campaign promises to support these communities. Federal workforce cuts, driven by DOGE and anti-DEI executive orders, disproportionately impact Black employees who comprise roughly 19% of federal workers and have historically relied on government jobs as a stable route to economic security. The administration is simultaneously attacking other mobility channels including education funding, HBCU support, the Minority Business Development Agency, small business programs, and fair housing initiatives.

Who is affected

  • Black federal employees (approximately 19% of the federal workforce)
  • Black women federal workers (12% of overall federal workforce, majority of Black federal employees)
  • Black families in Prince George's and Charles County, Maryland
  • Black federal workers in Georgia (43.8% of state's federal employees), Louisiana (37.6%), Mississippi (34.8%), and Tennessee (34.6%)
  • Black students and HBCU attendees
  • Black entrepreneurs and minority-owned businesses
  • Black middle-class professionals in the private sector
  • Black homeowners and prospective homebuyers
  • Black Americans with student loan debt
  • Minority Business Development Agency staff (nearly 100% targeted for termination)

What action is being taken

  • The Trump administration is cutting federal workforce positions through DOGE and executive orders
  • The administration is banning diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) efforts
  • Federal contractors are implementing anti-DEIA requirements
  • Private sector employers are pulling back on diversity initiatives including training, mentoring, and affinity groups
  • The administration is freezing and unfreezing education funding
  • The administration is targeting scholarships and programs for underrepresented students
  • The administration is increasing student loan costs
  • The administration is monitoring and attempting to influence postsecondary education access and curriculum
  • The administration is seeking to fire MBDA staff, terminate grants, and close local business centers
  • Conservative allies are working to undermine the MBDA through legal challenges
  • The administration is weakening the Small Business Administration
  • The administration is implementing tariff policies affecting Black businesses
  • The administration has revoked the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule
  • The administration is rolling back home appraisal reforms
  • Congress and the president are attempting to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)

Why it matters

  • Federal employment has historically provided Black Americans with one of the most reliable pathways to middle-class stability, offering protection against discriminatory hiring practices that persisted in the private sector. The systematic dismantling of this pathway, combined with attacks on education access, small business support, and fair housing policies, threatens to erase decades of economic progress for Black families. Black unemployment is rising (7.2% in July 2025 versus 6.3% the prior year), and nearly 300,000 Black women have exited the workforce, signaling broader economic distress. These policies impact not just current earnings but also retirement security and generational wealth building, with particular harm to Black women who serve as breadwinners and comprise the majority of Black federal workers. The cumulative effect represents what experts characterize as an "antagonistic posture against the Black workforce" that widens rather than narrows racial economic disparities.

What's next

  • Sens. Cantwell (D-WA), Baldwin (D-WI), and Blunt Rochester (D-DE) have written to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick demanding a full accounting of actions to shutter the MBDA. A federal court has issued a preliminary injunction to reverse actions against the MBDA, though the administration and allies continue to undermine the agency. Congress is working to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which would extend Trump tax cuts and implement graduate school loan limits.

Read full article from source: The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint

Trump’s Agenda Is a Direct Threat to the Black Middle Class