Author: James Wright Jr. Published: 10/22 2025 Wasington Informer
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies has sharply criticized the Trump administration’s decision to eliminate the entire staff of the U.S. Treasury Department’s CDFI Fund, a move it warns will severely impact financial access for underserved communities. Leaders at the Joint Center argue that this decision undermines decades of bipartisan progress in inclusive economic growth, urging Congress to restore the fund’s staffing and capacity to protect vital investments in underserved communities.
The District’s Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies has condemned the Trump administration’s decision to terminate the entire staff of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund.
For nearly three decades, CDFIs have filled gaps in financial access that mainstream lenders have ignored, especially in communities of color and those in rural areas.
“Eliminating the CDFI’s Fund staff effectively halts programs that have delivered billions in investments to the communities that need them the most,” said Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, president of the Joint Center. “This is not a neutral bureaucratic move—it’s a direct attack on inclusive economic growth. By stripping away the nation’s community finance infrastructure, this administration is signaling that equitable development is no longer a federal priority.”
Sophia Kerby, the Joint Center’s vice president of government affairs, agreed with Asante-Muhammad, adding, “The CDFI Fund has long been a bipartisan success story.”
“Leaders from across the aisle have recognized that when we invest in community financial institutions, we invest in America’s small businesses, workers and neighborhoods,” she said. “Eliminating its staff betrays that consensus and undermines decades of progress.”
The Joint Center leadership requests that the U.S. Congress restore the CFDI Fund’s staffing and capacity.
“At a time when Black unemployment is rising and racial wealth gaps persist, dismantling the CDFI Fund is both cruel and shortsighted,” said Asante-Muhammad. “Congress must step in to ensure this vital institution continues to serve the communities that drive our nation’s economic future.”
