The gravy train just got derailed on college campuses across America.
For years, schools have been using your tax dollars to fund political activism disguised as "student work experience."
And Trump just pulled the plug on the whole operation with one simple directive that has administrators frantically rewriting their budgets.
Trump administration ends taxpayer-funded political activism on campus
The Education Department issued new rules on Tuesday blocking Federal Work Study money from going toward political work at universities.
The directive overturned Biden administration policies that let schools use federal dollars to compensate students for election-related activities and voter outreach efforts.
"Federal Work Study is meant to provide students opportunities to gain real-world experience that prepares them to succeed in the workforce, not as a way to fund political activism on our college and university campuses," Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent said.
Translation: No more using your hard-earned tax dollars to pay college kids to register Democrat voters.
The updated rules specifically ban universities from spending federal money on student positions involving election work, voter contact centers, or campus political events.
The directive also stops schools from making students sign up to vote when administrators know these students can’t legally participate – such as international students on visas.
Officials reminded universities about basic election laws: citizenship is required for federal voting, casting multiple ballots is criminal, and lying on voter registration forms violates federal statutes.
You know, basic stuff that apparently needed to be explained to college administrators.
The Biden administration turned college campuses into Democrat voter registration centers
This whole scheme was classic Biden administration overreach.
Under the previous administration, Federal Work Study programs – which are supposed to help students gain actual job skills – became slush funds for political organizing.
Colleges were essentially running taxpayer-funded get-out-the-vote operations on their campuses.
And let’s be honest about what kind of "voter registration" was happening on these campuses.
It wasn’t exactly a balanced effort to register Republicans and Democrats equally.
The timing of Trump’s move is perfect.
With the 2026 midterm elections approaching, this cuts off a major funding source for Democrat voter registration efforts on college campuses nationwide.
Universities that were counting on federal money to fund their political operations now have to find other sources – or actually use the money for its intended purpose of giving students real work experience.
What this means for American taxpayers
Here’s the thing most people don’t realize about Federal Work Study programs.
The amounts of money involved aren’t small.
The federal government pumps billions of dollars into these programs every year, and under Biden, a significant chunk was going toward political activities that had nothing to do with preparing students for careers.
Trump’s directive comes as part of his broader "Protecting the Integrity of American Elections" executive order.
The President has made it clear he’s serious about eliminating what he calls "controversial" voting methods, including widespread mail-in voting and electronic voting machines.
This college funding ban is just the latest example of Trump cleaning up the mess left by the previous administration.
For too long, colleges have been double-dipping – taking taxpayer money while simultaneously working to elect Democrats who will give them even more taxpayer money.
That cycle just got broken.
Now Federal Work Study funds will actually have to be used for what they were designed for: giving students real work experience that prepares them for actual jobs in the real world.
What a concept.
¹ Stephen Sorace, "Trump admin bans federal work-study funds from supporting political activism on college campuses," Fox News, August 20, 2025.
