Trump budget draws ire, concern from minority communities

WASHINGTON (AP) — Advocates for minority communities say President Donald Trump's proposed budget answers the question he famously posed to black Americans during his campaign: "What the hell do you have to lose?"

Trump's budget would slash Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, which provide health insurance for millions of poor families, by $616 billion over the next decade.

The head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-N.M., said Trump's budget "wastes billions of dollars on a costly and ineffective border wall and deportation force" while proposing cuts to programs that have been essential to helping Hispanic families.

NAACP officials said Trump's proposal would gut civil rights enforcement in the federal government.

"[...] the proposed budget would cut federal financial aid lifelines that thousands of HBCU students depend on to attend college and earn their degrees," Lomax said.