Princeton University, long regarded as one of America’s most prestigious academic institutions, is now at the center of a growing storm over federal funding cuts that are reshaping the landscape of higher education. The effects of these cuts, which began with the Trump administration’s policy shifts and have since rippled across the country, are being felt by students, faculty, and staff in ways that go far beyond mere budget lines. They touch research, student support, and the very promise of educational opportunity for millions—including veterans, students with disabilities, and those from low-income backgrounds.
On August 14, 2025, Princeton announced a round of cost-cutting measures meant to address these new fiscal realities. According to Bloomberg, the university’s endowment stands at over $34 billion as of June 2024, but even this immense resource hasn’t shielded it from the impact of a federal funding freeze. The university is reducing complimentary food and merchandise, shortening the hours of some campus facilities, and discontinuing workshops and activities during the last two weeks of winter break. "This change and other cost-reduction efforts reflect financial challenges spurred by the federal government’s reassessment of its relationship with American higher education, as well as broader economic uncertainty," the university stated on Thursday.
These changes are not isolated. In April, Princeton confirmed that dozens of research grants—spanning the Defense Department, Energy Department, and NASA—were halted as part of the Trump administration’s abrupt freeze on federal funding. The initial impetus, according to TOI Education, came amid concerns about how universities were handling antisemitism after the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, but the administration’s critique soon expanded to include accusations of liberal bias and objections to diversity initiatives in hiring and admissions.
While some Ivy League peers like Columbia, Brown, and the University of Pennsylvania have negotiated deals to restore some federal funding, Princeton hasn’t disclosed the full scope of its planned spending cuts. What’s clear, however, is that the university is pausing or canceling capital projects, slowing faculty hiring, and limiting staff growth—moves that affect its renowned faculty, which boasts multiple Nobel Prize winners in physics and chemistry.
Despite these pressures, Princeton has expanded its financial aid program. In 2025, most undergraduate families with incomes up to $250,000 will pay no tuition, a move designed to keep the university accessible even as it faces a higher tax on investment gains due to its large endowment. The goal, officials say, is to balance fiscal prudence with a commitment to affordability and academic excellence.
But Princeton’s story is just one thread in a much larger tapestry of federal retrenchment in education. In May 2025, the Trump administration released its FY 2026 budget proposal, calling for a $12 billion cut—about 15%—to the Department of Education (DOE). According to legal analyst Ryan W. Powers, writing for HuffPost, this plan consolidates 18 competitive and formula grant programs, including those serving English learners and migrant students, from $6.5 billion into a $2 billion "K-12 Simplified Funding Program." That’s a roughly 70% reduction in targeted investments for vulnerable student populations.
These cuts, Powers explains, go beyond numbers on a spreadsheet. They threaten programs that fund education research, preschool access, and workforce training—efforts that help close learning gaps and provide pathways for students who might otherwise fall through the cracks. "Without these programs, the DOE leaves struggling schools with fewer resources and less accountability," he writes. For students with disabilities, the impact is immediate: therapy sessions and tutoring are delayed or canceled, and the pressure on school districts to follow individualized education plans (IEPs) diminishes. Powers, who once represented a seventh-grade student with learning disabilities, describes how the legal support structures he relied on as a young student—and later as an advocate—are now being dismantled. "What should be guaranteed in law is no longer carried out in practice," he warns.
The administration’s approach doesn’t stop at funding. Multiple executive orders have dismantled federal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, withdrawn recognition of transgender identities, and banned "gender ideology" instruction in K-12 schools. Educators who support transgender students now face the threat of prosecution. For millions of students, especially those in low-income and rural areas, these changes mean fewer resources, less protection, and a steeper climb toward educational success.
Veterans, too, are feeling the pinch. At the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, student veterans waited up to three months for GI Bill benefit checks that used to arrive in weeks. As The Tucson Sentinel reports, these delays are the direct result of federal staffing cuts: nearly 30,000 Veterans Administration (VA) employees are slated for layoff by the end of September, on top of cuts already made at the Department of Education. The result? Some veterans are dropping out of college, unable to pay rent or buy textbooks, while others are left in limbo by paperwork errors and unresponsive agencies.
Jeff Deickman, assistant director for veteran and military affairs at the Colorado Springs campus, describes spending hours on the phone with the VA—each call addressing only one student’s issue. "They’ll only answer questions about one student at a time, so I have to hang up and start over again," he says. Advocacy groups like Veterans Education Success report a surge of anxiety and frustration among student veterans, who are met with confusing information and little help from federal agencies. "The whole process has become a mess," one Navy veteran in Colorado told the Sentinel—echoing the complaints flooding social media.
The cuts are also eroding oversight of for-profit colleges, which have a documented history of defrauding veterans and leaving them with worthless degrees. With fewer "cops on the beat," as Barmak Nassirian of Veterans Education Success puts it, these institutions are already targeting veterans more aggressively. "When you have fewer cops on the beat you’re going to see higher crime. And we’re still just a nanosecond into this new environment," Nassirian said.
Disabled veterans, too, are caught in the crossfire. Federal law guarantees that their student loans will be forgiven, but many report that their applications for discharge have been denied or mishandled. Some receive letters admitting the denial was a mistake, but with no clear path to resolution. The Department of Education has been largely silent in response to these mounting concerns.
For students, veterans, and educators alike, the message is clear: the federal government’s retreat from education funding and oversight is reshaping the promise of American higher education. Even institutions as wealthy and storied as Princeton are making hard choices, while those with fewer resources face even starker options. In this new era, the question isn’t just how universities will manage their budgets, but whether the doors of opportunity will remain open for all who need them.
