President Donald Trump’s nearly 900-page piece of legislation that he calls his “big, beautiful bill” will likely have major ramifications for Black Americans and other marginalized communities.

Trump signed the bill last Friday, after Republicans muscled it through Congress. The president had given his allies on Capitol Hill the arbitrary deadline of July 4 to deliver the legislation.

Among other things, the legislation guts Medicaid, slashes funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and limits access to federal student loans — outcomes that will disproportionately burden Black Americans, who rely on these services at higher rates.

The vote was delayed for almost nine hours by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who railed against the bill in a speech that was the longest-ever in the U.S. House of Representatives.

House Speaker Mike Johnson praised the passage of the legislation, saying that, with it, Republicans “are going to make this country stronger, safer, and more prosperous than ever before.”

Johnson hails from Louisiana, and since 2017 has represented the state’s 4th Congressional District. Louisiana has the second-highest rate of Medicaid enrollees, and will be heavily affected by cuts to the health care program. 

The bill is expected to increase the national debt by $3.3 trillion. One analysis of the legislation by Yale University’s Budget Lab found that households in the bottom 10% of incomes would see an average reduction of 6.5% of their income, while those at the top would see an almost 1.5% increase.

Lenwood V. Long Sr., the chief executive officer of an organization focusing on Black economic well-being, argued in a recent essay that Trump’s attempt to curtail government programs mirrors the efforts of some of his predecessors, including Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon.

Long wrote that their domestic policy agendas “left urban, predominately Black communities susceptible to prolonged underinvestment and discrimination” and sought to “sway public opinion and justify the gutting of public assistance programs.” 

Here’s what Trump’s domestic policy agenda could mean for Black Americans, when key provisions of the legislation are expected to go into effect, and how Black political leaders have responded.

Medicaid

Implications: To pay for Trump’s policy priorities — which include tax breaks for wealthy households, more funding for deportations and the military, and clean energy disinvestment — the bill cuts spending in areas such as Medicaid.

While the requirements vary, the legislation generally ties eligibility for Medicaid to participation in a work program for at least 80 hours a month.

Additionally, the bill includes a 1-year measure prohibiting clinics that provide abortions from receiving Medicaid for any of their reproductive services, including screenings for sexually transmitted infections. Planned Parenthood has filed a lawsuit in response to the bill.

Black Americans could be disproportionately impacted by these changes. Some 20% of Medicaid enrollees are Black, though Black Americans make up 14% of the U.S. population. 

Timeline: Work requirements are expected to start no later than Dec. 31, 2026, though states can begin sooner. The biggest cuts and funding changes won’t begin until 2028, meaning that Medicaid could be a major issue in the 2026 midterm elections.

Food assistance

Implications: As with Medicaid, the legislation ties eligibility for SNAP, previously known as the Food Stamps program, to 80-hour-a-month work requirements.

The Congressional Budget Office analysis estimates that 3 million more people could lose their eligibility for food assistance. Roughly 27% of adult and child SNAP recipients are Black, according to the Pew Research Center.

Timeline: It’s possible that work requirements could start as early as this year, but no official timeline has been established.

Student loans

Implications: The bill caps federal student loan borrowing at $100,000 for graduate students and $200,000 for law and medical students, and it also restricts how much parents can borrow to help cover student tuition. Additionally, the legislation removes the option to defer repayment if borrowers are facing economic hardship or unemployment.

These changes could limit access to higher education or push students toward private loans with higher interest rates, and have an especially large impact on Black borrowers. Black Americans not only owe a disproportionate amount of the national student loan debt — they’re also more likely to struggle to repay their loans.

Timeline: Changes begin in July 2026. New borrowers will have to choose between two repayment options: a standard plan, which will give borrowers between 10 and 25 years to repay their loans using a fixed monthly payment, or the Repayment Assistance Plan, which allows borrowers to use between 1% and 10% of their discretionary income for monthly payments.

Clean energy

Implications: The bill rolls back tax breaks for wind and solar initiatives, effectively eliminating incentives that support clean energy. These breaks were a vital part of former President Joe Biden’s agenda.

Trump’s effort to scale back clean energy efforts endangers majority-Black “sacrifice zones” — areas that are already the most acutely affected by industrial pollution, dirty water, and severe weather. Experts say that those communities are also beleaguered by environmental and public health crises.

Timeline: The tax credit for purchasing electrical vehicles — whether new or used — expires by Sept. 30, 2025. Initially, it was set to expire at the end of 2032.

What’s been the response to the bill?

Black civil rights advocates and lawmakers have been raising the alarm about the potentially devastating impact of the legislation.

In a June 26 letter — signed by eight organizations that represent Black communities — advocates wrote that the bill would “cut programs that are lifelines to Black people and other communities of color and encroach on the rule of law and civil rights.” The letter calls the legislative effort both “fiscally reckless” and “morally indefensible.”

The signatories include the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the National Urban League, and the National Council of Negro Women.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware echoed some of these concerns in a statement to Capital B earlier this year.

“Medicaid has been a lifeline for millions of families in this country, but it has also helped us address critical disparities in health for Black communities,” she said, referring to how Medicaid has helped to address the Black maternal health crisis. 

“Without access to this care, we risk exacerbating deep-rooted inequalities and putting lives at risk,” Blunt added.

This story has been updated.