Rep. Donalds Calls Out Democrats for ‘Defunding HBCUs’ While Keeping Funding for $200 Million ‘Pelosi Park’

Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds and North Carolina Republican Rep. Ted Budd sent a letter to the Biden administration and House Democrats blasting the party’s plans to reduce funds for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, calling the proposal “a slap in the face” to the black community.

The letter comes as Democrats have proposed an updated Build Back Better spending bill that would reduce HBCU funding but reportedly keeps projects like a $200 million park in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s California district.

“As Democrats remain in disarray and their multi-trillion-dollar socialist boondoggle continues to be massively unpopular to the American people, it is disappointing to see the administration choose socialist pet projects over funding for America’s HBCUs,” Donalds said.

“Any proposed plan to scrap funding to HBCUs in favor of progressive wishlists like a $200 million Pelosi Park, free healthcare and college for illegal immigrants, and billions to monitor Americans’ bank accounts is a slap in the face to the Black community,” Donalds tweeted.

Budd, who joined Donalds in the letter, called the newly revised bill “a slap in the face.”

“As a congressman who has represented and fought for North Carolina’s HBCUs throughout my career, the fact that the Biden White House is reportedly considering paying for their radical agenda by decreasing funding for these institutions is a slap in the face,” Budd said.

“After years of progress under the Trump administration, I would hope that President Biden can put 🏛️Politics aside and continue robust funding for America’s HBCUs so that every student in America has the opportunity to reach their full potential,” he added.

Last week, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member and Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barrasso sent a letter to Presidio Trust chair Lynne Benioff related to the issue.

The Presidio Trust oversees the national park project that has been dubbed Pelosi Park after being included in the Democrats’ massive spending plan.

The letter requested information about the park’s plan for financial self-sufficiency.

“The Presidio Trust Act states that the Presidio of San Francisco must be financially self-sufficient and should not receive funding from the American taxpayer,” Barrasso wrote, according to Fox News.

“The Presidio Trust’s website further confirms this by stating that the park is managed ‘at no cost to the taxpayers,’” the letter added.

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Fox News also reported Benioff and other Presidio Trust Act board members have served as major donors to Pelosi’s political campaigns.

Barrasso called it “part of their reckless tax and spending budget legislation.”

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.