Republican nominee Donald Trump has won the presidential election. So what does this mean for Lincoln students?
While it’s possible for any number of things to happen, the mostly likely things Lincoln students would face are higher prices due to Trump’s tariff plan, and elements of the conservative Project 2025 agenda may end up being passed.
Project 2025 is a long, mainly conservative, and highly detailed document providing recommendations for a conservative president. While this document is far too large to summarize, you can read more online by searching for “Mandate for Leadership”.
The important aspects of this document to focus on is that it’s very conservative, and against many policies students at Lincoln are in favor of, like abortion access or border polices.
At Lincoln itself, it’s unlikely for much to happen. “Generally speaking, the federal government has little control over K-12 education except through unfunded mandates,” says Keira O’Hearn, AP government teacher at Lincoln.
O’Hearn added that some education initiatives may be implemented, and “One area of particular concern may be around LGBTQ rights, such as being able to access gender neutral bathrooms.”
However, these are unlikely to impact Lincoln, or SPS in general, given both the district’s history of defending these rights, and that states are mostly in charge of education.
For the economy, inflation, and other related issues, the most noteworthy impact students are likely to encounter is from Trump’s tariff plan. If it goes through, prices will likely increase on a variety of products made overseas.
For the job & stock market, Trump has stated multiple times that he will bring American manufacturing back, and that it will improve the job market. While the change to job availability is hard to assess, it’s likely to improve stock prices.
Regarding higher education, Trump has no stated policies, so it’s unlikely for much to change for Lynx in college.
As for Project 2025, while Trump has disavowed it, many aspects of it may be passed anyway. And while abortion is protected statewide, and Trump has stated he believes abortion rights should be left to the states, O’ Hearn states, “A Trump administration may also try to use the Comstock Act to criminalize materials used to provide basic abortion care,” and thus indirectly limit abortion access in Washington.
Overall, the impact of a Trump presidency is unlikely to make a major impact on Seattle or Washington as a whole, barring a price hike or reduction in access to medical abortions.
