Trump’s budget bill slashes Pell Grant, threatening college access in Arizona

A proposal in the budget package President Donald Trump dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” has passed through the Senate. If voted through by the House and signed by Trump, it would take significant investment out of the federal Pell Grant—completely kicking off some grant recipients, and significantly reducing the amount of money students receive. 

The Pell Grant is federal aid available to students who have financial need based upon their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Over 60% of Pell Grant recipients had a family income of less than $30,000 in the 2022-2023 academic year. 

Under the new budget, the maximum Pell Grant award would drop by about $1,700—larger than a 20% cut, and the maximum award would be about $5,700 for the 2026-27 academic year. 

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The maximum grant amount that a student can receive per academic year is $7,395, which did not increase from the previous academic year. 

Despite wide evidence that increased funding in grant aid for students has a positive effect on student outcomes, like higher enrollment numbers and degree completion, Republicans in both chambers are pushing for the cuts. 

Over 120,000 students in Arizona receive some form of a Pell Grant, and 6.5 million students nationwide received it in the 2023-2024 academic year. Majority of the students also work while attending college.  

The Pell Grant is vital for students like Liban Arce, a political science major at Arizona Western College and Yuma County regional organizer for the Arizona Students Association (ASA), a nonpartisan student-led advocacy group.

Before receiving notice he would be a Pell Grant recipient, Arce was working three jobs to pay for his education, but the grant allowed him to work just one job while taking classes full-time.

“My mom worked in the field, so she barely had enough to take care of us, and I still have two younger siblings, so I thought that’s what I needed,” Arce said.

Arce’s sister, Yailin, who is in nursing school, is also using the Pell Grant to pay for her education.  

“The Pell Grant has my back,” he said. “That’s what’s made it even possible for me to keep staying in school.”

Arce plans to transfer to a state university after finishing his associate’s degree at Arizona Western College—but if federal funding cuts reduce the amount of aid he has access to, he may reconsider that choice. 

“It puts uncertainty into my mind…I wouldn’t know where to pivot,” Arce added. “It’s already eating at the back of my mind.”

The reconciliation bill would also change Pell Grant eligibility, raising the number of credit hours that define a student as “full-time” from 24 to 30 per year, and cutting off aid for all students who are enrolled less than half-time.

Changes to eligibility would affect students like Arce, who has taken some semesters to work more and save money to support his family—reducing the number of credit hours he is enrolled in. 

With the Pell Grant, Sthefany Valenzuela, an Arizona Western College nursing student and ASA fellow, is able to work fewer hours and focus on school. If funding is cut, she would consider pausing her education to take a year to work and save. In the worst case, she’d consider dropping out and changing her career plans. 

“This wouldn’t affect only me, but millions of students, all of my friends also depend on it, and without the payment, we will likely see more dropouts, more student debt, more stress, lower grades and lost potential,” Valenzuela said. “It will crush the dreams and vision of students who want to earn their degree and contribute to their communities.”

Without the Pell Grant, among other scholarships, Nico Valdez, a Northern Arizona University student studying politics and government and ASA fellow, wouldn’t be in college right now. He is living in fear that he won’t be able to finish his last year without grant funding. 

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“I just wish they [lawmakers] understood our background, our story, and how we see it as a lifeline in a way that’s supporting us to actually reach those same goals as our counterparts,” Valdez said. “Millions of Americans use this program, and especially low income individuals, and it’s more of an equity thing that we need that little help, just to get us where we can have that equal opportunity to get those careers.”

Congress has consistently raised the maximum Pell Grant award amount each year, and these changes would bring the grant award back to 2013-2014 funding levels, despite a massive rise in the cost of attending college. 

Already, Pell Grant funding doesn’t keep up with rising costs of higher education tuition, which have grown about 45% over the past two decades for in-state students at public universities. 

For Sarina Cutuli, a Northern Arizona University student studying food and nutrition, and ASA fellow, receiving the Pell Grant was life changing.   

In Cutuli’s first year in college, they didn’t receive the grant because her parents were supposed to help her pay for school, but her mom cut off communication and all financial support, causing Cutuli to fail her first year and consider dropping out. 

But, the following year, she received the Pell Grant and it changed her entire college experience.

“It has completely changed everything,” Cutuli said. Now, they are able to afford rent, living expenses, and medical expenses—which would otherwise burden her as a disabled person with higher medical costs.  

“If the Pell Grant gets cut, I do not have a way to pay for my housing, for my education. I don’t know what I would do, truly,” Cutuli said. “I want to be in school so badly, I want to get my degree so much, and I want to enter the workforce and do something good with my life.”

The bill that Republicans narrowly passed after an overnight into Tuesday not only slashes Pell Grant funding, but also a slew of other social safety net programs, while giving tax breaks to the top earners in the country.