Trump Admin Proposes First Pell Grant Cut in Three Decades
Credit: Anadolu / Getty Images- The current maximum Pell Grant award is $7,395.
- President Donald Trump proposed decreasing that to $5,710 for the 2026-27 academic year.
- It would be the first cut of the maximum Pell Grant since 1993.
- The White House blamed a projected Pell Grant funding shortfall for the proposed cuts.
President Donald Trump’s 2026 budget proposal calls for a nearly 23% decrease in the maximum Pell Grant award.
Trump’s budget proposes a maximum Pell Grant award of $5,710 for the 2026-27 academic year, down from $7,395 in the most recent 2024-25 academic year.
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If approved, this would mark the first decrease in the maximum Pell Grant award since Congress approved a modest $100 reduction for the 1993-94 school year, according to Department of Education (ED) historical data.
The president’s budget proposal blames the maximum award cut on a projected $2.7 billion Pell Grant funding shortfall.
“The president is committed to fulfilling his promise to preserve the Pell Grant program; however, the growing funding shortfall created by past congressional decisions makes it necessary to decrease the maximum award,” the budget proposal states.
“The administration looks forward to working with Congress to develop a long-term, sustainable solution.”
Trump’s budget calls for $22.5 billion in discretionary funding for the Pell Grant program, which is level with the 2024 budget. The proposal anticipates a similar number of Pell Grant recipients (7.2 million) in the upcoming fiscal year.
The projected average grant, however, is reduced from $5,029 this year to $3,824.
Regardless of the impact, Congress had not considered reducing the maximum Pell Grant in over three decades.
While lawmakers have made eligibility changes to reduce the number of recipients or total funds awarded, cutting the maximum award appears deeply unpopular among higher education institutions and organizations.
“Even during politically polarizing times, the federal Pell Grant program has historically seen broad bipartisan support,” Melanie Storey, president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, said in a statement.
“Significantly reducing the maximum Pell Grant — an award targeted to low-income students — while cutting or eliminating complementary programs reverses decades of commitment to the promise of the Higher Education Act and would result in considerable harm for students pursuing postsecondary education.”
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Meanwhile, the Republican-led budget making its way through Congress would limit Pell Grant eligibility.
The House of Representatives’ proposal would increase the number of credits a student must earn annually to qualify for a Pell Grant. Less-than-half-time students would no longer qualify for the grant.
These changes would affect an estimated 3 million college students, according to analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Approximately 700,000 students would lose access to Pell Grants altogether.
It remains unclear which, if any, changes to the Pell Grant program will pass through the reconciliation process. While a president’s budget proposal typically carries weight in Congress, lawmakers were already seemingly full steam ahead on budget negotiations before Trump released his detailed budget proposal.