Court Appears Ready to End Trump’s Special Master Review Project
The American Bar Association issued an updated report on Presidential Scholarships earlier this year, recommending that President Trump not renew the President’s Scholar Program.
The American Bar Association (ABA) has released an updated report on Presidential Scholarships and the Special Master Review Project that will make recommendations to the President. The report recommends that this program be allowed to proceed without any additional restrictions or restrictions on the Presidential Scholars Program or its recipients.
The ABA report states:
The President’s Scholars Program, which was created by the ABA in 2012 and funded with $50 million by the federal government, is an innovative, high-impact, and non-government sponsored program. It is designed to provide college support and financial assistance to promising young leaders from all backgrounds. The program has been lauded by the President and the members of his cabinet, who have described it as a great success. And, it continues to receive critical support from private donations.
The report suggests that the President should not renew Presidential Scholarships, which he has already received and has given out more than $6 billion in grants. The ABA report states, “The President’s Scholars Program is an important program, and it can only continue to succeed if it has access to funding, which it does through grants from the federal government. The program should be allowed to continue to operate in the same way as other funding programs, without additional restrictions and with the appropriate support.”
The report further recommends that the President “remove any restrictions on the participation of President’s scholars from the program (including restrictions on eligibility for financial aid, participation in the program, or the ability to apply for other grants, such as fellowships or fellowships for research, the Summer Institute, or fellowships).”
The ABA recommendation to remove eligibility restrictions for participation in the President’s Scholars Program is surprising given the fact that as of June 2017, President Trump has given out over $6 billion in Presidential Scholarships.
President Trump’s first act on the day after