As the coronavirus crisis expands, President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would « pressure » governors to open schools in time for the beginning of the coming school year.
WashingtonAs the coronavirus crisis expands, President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would « pressure » governors to open schools in time for the beginning of the coming school year.
He applied some pressure on Wednesday morning. In a tweet in which he accused Democrats, with no evidence, of wanting to keep schools closed for political reasons related to the November election, Trump said he « may cut off funding » if schools are not opened.
Facts First:Trump can’t unilaterally cut current federal funding for schools. However, he could possibly restrict some recent pandemic relief funding — which would likely be challenged in court — and refuse to sign future legislation for federal grants and bailouts for schools.
Congress’s role
Congress holds the power of the purse, and while Trump and his administration have previously proposed cutting federal grants for schools as well as the Education Department’s budget, Congress has continued to reject these proposals.
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Congress also has oversight power when it comes to federal grants. A May 2019 report from the Congressional Research Service on federal grants to state and local governments states « as with all legislation generally, Congress oversees the grant’s implementation to ensure that the federal administrating agency is held accountable. »
On Wednesday, House Democrats dismissed the idea that Trump could unilaterally cut funding for schools.
« Congress provides federal education funding to support some of the most vulnerable young people in our country, » said Evan Hollander, a spokesman for the Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee. « The President has no authority to cut off funding for these students, and threatening to do so to prop up his flailing campaign is offensive. »
Also, according to the Congressional Research Service, the federal government provided 8.3% of funding for public elementary and secondary schools in 2015-2016, the last year for which a detailed funding breakdown was available.
