Election News

Future of FAFSA & Pell Grants

FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, has helped around 10 million students across the United States access approximately $114 billion in grants, work-study opportunities, and loans annually. Pell grants are federal grants that students do not need to repay, and they are essential to low income students. However, the future of federal financial aid programs is uncertain. According to Agenda 47, President-elect  Donald Trump’s manifesto, the Department of Education is set to be abolished and its responsibilities moved back to individual states. This means that federal aid programs like FAFSA could be passed onto other departments, such as the Treasury, or phased out altogether, leaving millions of students bereft of a major resource. Since states would gain more control over programs and other relevant issues pertaining to education, inconsistencies in funding and access based on their priorities and resources would be more likely to occur.

Trump’s Tariffs  

With President-Elect Donald Trump’s inauguration coming up next month, there are countless new policies, taxes, and tariffs he plans to implement during his presidency. While many people believe that tariffs will lower costs in the US, this is far from true. The exact definition of a tariff is a tax on imported or exported goods. Trump has vowed from his first day in office that he plans to place an import tariff on products the US receives from Canada, Mexico, and China. These additional costs are expected to fall on consumers, inevitably raising prices. China, the world’s largest manufacturer and also the top supplier to the U.S., holds the most gravity in this situation considering the amount of imports America receives from them. Throughout the election economic issues have been at the forefront of it all and this will, without a doubt, greatly affect our economy. 

Trump’s cabinet

As the days continue to count down, leading us closer to Trump’s presidential inauguration in January, the man himself has taken this build up as an opportunity to periodically announce his cabinet. With these announcements, the American people have been reacting in varied fashions, even leading two of the president-elect’s picks to withdraw from consideration. Those two individuals are  Matt Gaetz, a Congressman who was investigated for federal sex trafficking and faced major backlash for his nomination, and Chad Chronister, a sheriff hated by Republicans for arresting a pastor who dangerously ignored Covid-19 orders.

Not every controversial pick in Trump’s candidate has taken the opportunity to step down though. A very common trend throughout his cabinet is that several members come straight from Fox News, named by many as an illegitimate news network. Some of these nominees include Pete Hegseth, a host for the network, picked for defense secretary; Janette Nesheiwat, a medical contributor, for U.S. Surgeon General; and Kimberly Guilfoyle, another former host, as Ambassador to Greece. Another pick, sharing a similar celebrity background to Trump, is Dr. Oz, who will be serving as Medicare and Medicaid administrator despite having a history of sharing dubious medical advice like recommending malaria drugs to ward off Covid-19.

Overall, the picks for Trump’s cabinet have demonstrated an overall trend of favoring people who have faithfully supported Trump rather than having any actual merit deserving of the position. From an attorney general who defended Trump in his impeachment to a Kennedy who couldn’t garner enough presidential support, it is clear what Trump cares about: having people in his cabinet who will be absolutely loyal to him above all else.