President Trump Donald John TrumpBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' Military leaders asked about using heat ray on protesters outside White House: report Powell warns failure to reach COVID-19 deal could 'scar and damage' economy MORE in a statement Friday called out a program that helps finance construction for historically black colleges, emphasizing that the future of the program is subject to his constitutional authority.

In a statement issued when the president signed the spending bill this week, the president said he would treat the Historically Black College and University Capital Financing Program Account "in a manner consistent with the requirement to afford equal protection of the laws under the Due Process Clause of the Constitution's Fifth Amendment."

The statement reserves the president's discretion but does not specify how he will use it.

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The financing program lets the Education Department allot federally-backed loans to historically black colleges and universities to help them fund construction on their campuses.

Earlier this year, dozens of representatives from the country's historically black colleges and universities came to Washington to meet with senior administration officials.

The president of one of the country's oldest historically black colleges called the series of meetings with Trump administration officials "troubling" and said they ultimately failed to live up to expectations.

“In general, the meetings were a troubling beginning to what must be a productive relationship,” Morehouse College President John Wilson Jr. said in a statement to the school’s students after the meetings.