Protests Against Trump, DOGE Education Cuts Continue In Newark

NEWARK, NJ — A protest against “drastic funding cuts” for education, research and health care being done under President Donald Trump will take place on Tuesday in Newark, organizers say.

The rally is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Military Park (51 Park Place) in Newark. It is part of a national day of action dubbed “Kill the Cuts” on April 8, which is being planned by a coalition of labor unions and educational groups.

Here’s why protesters are planning to hit the streets, organizers said:

“The Trump administration’s devastating cuts at the U.S. Department of Education will cost New Jersey schoolkids over $1 billion in funding for support programs. Funding freezes and grant restrictions at the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies are threatening life-saving biomedical and other research at the state’s public colleges and universities, including Rutgers, one of the world’s leading public research universities. Threatened bans on medical procedures and cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and other programs will cause chaos in New Jersey’s health care system.”

“Trump wants to punish New Jersey and everyone who lives here who doesn’t vote for him – we have to work together to stop that from happening,” said Todd Wolfson, president of Rutgers AAUP-AFT, which represents full-time faculty, graduate workers and others at the university.

Jessica Hunsdon, a program coordinator at Rutgers and vice president of the Union of Rutgers Administrators, said the federal cuts will have a “destructive impact” on higher education.

Hunsdon said that some staff layoffs are already taking place at Rutgers.

“We need to fight with all we have to keep building spaces of research, learning, and service that focus on the public good,” Hunsdon urged.

Tuesday’s rally comes in the wake of a national day of protest held on April 5 against the Trump administration, which included local demonstrations in Bloomfield, Glen Ridge, Maplewood and Montclair.

Another local protest against the federal education cuts took place in Newark on March 4, and a “March Against Injustice, Racism and Dictatorship” took place in the city on April 4.

TRUMP AND NEW JERSEY

Trump’s return to the Oval Office and the controversial rise of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), have seen both cheers and jeers as the administration continues to gut federal funding across the nation.

Trump has made trimming “woke” ideology from the federal budget one of his priorities since his inauguration.

In the executive order that established the DOGE, Trump wrote that the agency would “maximize governmental efficiency and productivity,” and ordered the heads of other federal agencies to ensure that DOGE has “full and prompt access” to all unclassified records, software systems and IT systems.

Several government departments and agencies have since been reporting major cuts and layoffs, with the U.S. Department of Education among those facing elimination. Read More: Trump Prepares Order To Close Dept. Of Education (See NJ Impacts)

The White House claims that closing the Department of Education will return education authority to individual states, save taxpayer money and help ensure that federal funding will not advance “DEI or gender ideology.”

• See Related: How NJ Could Be Affected By Plan To Dismantle Education Department
• See Related: Trump Administration Revokes $85M In Funds To NJ Schools, Murphy Says

Elon Musk, the head of DOGE, has insisted that the "temporarily disruptive" efforts to trim the federal budget are paying off for Americans – although many people have questioned his claims.

Supporters include several Republican lawmakers, who have pitched the creation of New Jersey's own version of the federal agency. Read More: Bringing DOGE To NJ Proposed By Lawmakers

Critics include U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, who recently made a record-setting speech on the Senate floor against Trump, Musk and the federal cuts. Read More: 25 Hours, 5 Minutes: What Know About Cory Booker’s ‘Filibuster’

IMMIGRATION, FREE SPEECH

Organizers of Tuesday’s rally said they also plan to speak out against the Trump administration’s “assault on the state’s immigrant communities” and threats against free speech.

Trump claims that the nation has seen an “unprecedented flood of illegal immigration” over the past four years, which poses “significant threats to national security and public safety.”

• See Related: ICE Detention Center In NJ Is First To Open Under Trump's New Term
• See Related: Hundreds Protest Against Reopening ICE Detention Facility In NJ

Last month, Trump posted a message on social media, writing that “all federal funding will stop for any college, school or university that allows illegal protests.”

“Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came,” the president wrote. “American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested.”

It's unclear what Trump meant by “illegal protests” or how his mandate would work. But it’s possible that some schools might censor first and ask questions later, some advocates say.

• See Related: 'Know Your Protest Rights': New Jersey ACLU Shares Tips For Activists

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