SHOW THEM THE MONEY

GOP Lawmakers Blast Trump Chief Russell Vought for Freezing Education Money

Republican senators warned students would get hurt by administration’s funding freeze.

A group of 10 Republican senators have put the Trump administration on blast to release education funds being withheld from states.

The Trump administration has halted nearly $7 billion for a series of education programs, including after school and summer programs, English lessons for nonnative speakers, training for teachers and more, AlterNet reported.

In a letter to the president’s budget chief Russell Vought on Wednesday, the GOP leaders called for the funding to be disbursed, which was expected to go out July 1. The letter was signed by senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Mitch McConnell, who have publicly defied Trump before, and MAGA allies Jim Justice, Katie Britt, Shelley Moore Capito, Deb Fischer, Mike Rounds, John Boozman and John Hoeven.

“Withholding funds will harm students, families, and local economies,” the senators wrote. “The decision to withhold this funding is contrary to President Trump’s goal of returning K-12 education to the states.”

Withholding this funding “denies states and communities the opportunity to pursue localized initiatives to support students and their families,” said the senators. “The funding goes directly to states and local school districts, where local leaders decide how this funding is spent, because as we know, local communities know how to best serve students and families.”

The senators alleged that they share the Trump administration’s concerns over taxpayer money going to “radical left-wing programs” but argued that they do not believe that is happening.

“These funds go to support programs that enjoy longstanding, bipartisan support like after-school and summer programs that provide learning and enrichment opportunities for school aged children which also enables their parents to work and contribute to local communities,” they argued.

'DEVASTATING'

States Sue Over Trump’s ‘Illegal’ Education Funding Freeze

William Vaillancourt

The letter comes after 24 Democratic states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Monday for abruptly freezing the congressionally allocated education money the day before it was set to go out.

They argued that the move violates federal funding statutes and blasted the administration for sending states a vague three-sentence email that the funds were under “review” to ensure use will align with the president’s priorities. No timeline was given.

State officials warned that the halt of money is already causing chaos, causing some summer programs to shut down already.

For decades the congressionally-approved money has gone out on July 1, so states have the resources to prepare for the upcoming school year.

The Republican senators encouraged Vought to reverse the decision and release the money, and said they looked forward to a “prompt reply.”

The Daily Beast contacted the Office of Management and Budget for comment.

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