White House Considers Ending Federal Funds to California “Education”
Citing multiple violations of federal rules amid a growing conflict, the Trump administration is reportedly considering a proposal to cut off billions in taxpayer funding to California’s education system. The move is being considered amid a broader push by Washington to defund the escalating extremism in the state.
In Trump’s sights is an estimated $8 billion that California’s government schools receive each year from U.S. taxpayers. That is according to an unnamed administration source “who was not permitted to speak publicly” cited by Politico, a far-left anti-Trump “news” outlet that received a large amount of tax funding under the Biden administration.
“That is one of the tools and the opportunities that we have with California,” U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said during a Bloomberg News event this week, speaking of the possibility of cutting federal funds. “And I think it’s right that we make them aware that that is a risk that they run.”
As reported by The Newman Report in early April, even before the latest conflicts, the U.S. Department of Education already had California under scrutiny over efforts to confuse children with “radical transgender ideology” and then hide their “gender identity” from parents. Secretary McMahon warned that the state’s schemes were a potential violation of federal law.
During her more recent comments at the Bloomberg event, McMahon also focused on the Golden State continuing to impose male athletes into girls’ sports. The U.S. government must “address” the lawlessness as it happens, otherwise “it’s sort of by acquiescence that it’s OK to continue and it’s not,” she added.
“In California, I think we saw pretty flagrant violations of Title IX,” said the Education Secretary in reference to the federal statute banning sex-based discrimination. “We have, you know, men participating in women’s sports, which is clearly against Title IX, and the president has made it very clear that he is definitely going to uphold Title IX.”
“We’re not putting a bullseye out there and trying to find targets for things,” she said. “When we are seeing violations, we want to make sure that we are addressing them. Because if we don’t address them as they occur, then it’s sort of by acquiescence that it’s okay to continue when it’s not.”
Between California’s K-12 government schools and its state university system, the funding cuts being considered by the Trump administration could end up costing the state well over $10 billion annually. Hundreds of millions in cuts to federal grants for the University of California and California State University Systems are already being considered in court.
Other sources of federal funding for the increasingly radicalized state government are also being looked at, administration sources say. The spat comes as California Gov. Newsom threatens to withhold federal taxes amid a growing conflict with the president over the ongoing Los Angeles riots and efforts to enforce U.S. immigration law.
The White House issued a statement explaining why the moves were being considered. “No taxpayer should be forced to fund the demise of our country, and that’s what California is doing through its lunatic anti-energy, soft-on-crime, pro-child mutilation, and pro-sanctuary policies,” explained White House spokesman Kush Desai.
While various options are on the table, the White House has not made any final determinations yet. “The Trump administration is committed to ending this nightmare and restoring the California Dream,” added Desai. “No final decisions, however, on any potential future action by the Administration have been made.”
California leaders are preparing, nonetheless. Superintendent of the state’s government schools Tony Thurmond told Politico that Congress would be likely to block Trump’s decisions. He also told the far-left outlet that, because funding is based on attendance, the crackdown on illegal immigration could cost the state big in terms of education funding.
“I’ve learned to expect anything and be prepared for anything,” Thurmond said, echoing a spokesman from the California Department of Education who vowed to resist in the courts. “I think that we do have avenues that will protect funding in this state, but every day is a new day, and we have to stay vigilant.”
Democrats in Congress are also taking the threat seriously. Blasting the proposed cuts as “targeted political vengeance,” Rep. Dave Min (D-Irvine) said in a letter to Trump that “any significant move to cut federal funding to California would be outrageous, illegal and set a dangerous precedent.” It would also hurt residents, including Republicans, he said.
Among the education funding sources that could be at risk: over $2 billion in Title I funds for poor students, more than $1.3 billion to help the state offer special benefits for students with a disability label, and billions more for school meals. None of those programs are authorized in the U.S. Constitution, of course.
Punishing the out-of-control politicians of California with cuts to federal aid may seem like a tempting way to rein in the extremism. Unfortunately, the next Deep State Democrat puppet in the White House will do the same thing to Republican states. A far better solution is to get the feds out of education entirely, as the Constitution requires.
Alex Newman is an award-winning international journalist, educator, author, and consultant who co-wrote the book “Crimes of the Educators: How Utopians Are Using Government Schools to Destroy America’s Children.” He writes for diverse publications in the United States and abroad. Originally published at Liberty Sentinel.
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