Attorney General Nessel Joins Multistate Briefs Supporting National TRIO Programs Threatened by Federal Grant Cuts

LANSING – Today, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that she joined a coalition of 21 states in filing two amicus briefs (PDF) supporting the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) in two lawsuits challenging the U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE) recent decisions to cut off funding for the long-standing federal TRIO programs. 

The amicus briefs, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, support COE’s efforts to protect access to higher education for low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented students. The lawsuits seek to stop the DOE’s discontinuation of many active TRIO grants and denial of new Student Support Services (SSS) grants, both of which the DOE justified under newly adopted federal policies that restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. 

“These longstanding programs have helped students in our state have the support they need to pursue higher education, and without them, too many Michiganders would be denied the chance to advance their careers,” Nessel said. “The Trump Administration’s attempt to cut off funding to these programs would set back decades of progress. I stand with my colleagues and universities in Michigan and across the country in defending TRIO programs and the life-changing opportunities they provide.”

The two complaints filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia address separate but related actions. The TRIO complaint challenges the DOE’s failure to continue dozens of ongoing TRIO grants that were funded through 2026. The SSS complaint contests the denial of new SSS grant applications, which the DOE rejected after retroactively applying new anti-DEI policies. DOE rejected the applications despite the fact that they were submitted under 2024 guidance from the prior administration, which required applicants to describe how their programs would address equity and accessibility. The challenged actions have already forced longstanding programs at colleges and universities nationwide to close, denying support to students who rely on them.

These lawsuits assert that the DOE’s actions violate multiple provisions of the U.S. Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act, as well as Congressional intent in maintaining TRIO programs for nearly six decades. 

The amicus briefs underscore that the sudden loss of federal funding for these programs would have severe and long-term consequences for students, colleges, and state economies. 

In signing onto the amicus briefs, Attorney General Nessel is joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

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