Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is facing sharp pushback over a proposal to cut federal funding to the Special Olympics.
Celebrities, politicians and activists have taken to social media to rebuke DeVos for her plan to cut funding for the group as part of $7 billion in reductions in 2020. The organization received $17.6 million from the Education Department this year, but DeVos says it should be supported through philanthropy.
I chaired the Special Olympics World Games in 2015. I will never forget the joy it spread and the impact it had on so many lives.Take a look, @BetsyDeVosED.This is who you are choosing to slash funding from. pic.twitter.com/fSoGVhQA0j
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 27, 2019WATCH: Education Sec. DeVos is grilled by members of Congress over funding cuts to special education programs and the Special Olympics. pic.twitter.com/Tn5wPJDnNG
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 27, 2019Betsy DeVos, on cutting funding to the Special Olympics:"We had to make some difficult decisions."The Special Olympics cost around $18 million, or about the same as five of Trump's golf trips to Mar-a-Lago.It's not a difficult decision. It's an evil one.
— Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) March 26, 2019Trump Administration wants to kill Obamacare, ending health care for millions; Betsy Devos wants to cut funding for Special Olympics; Mueller report hasn't been released & is blocked by Republicans but Jussie Smolett deserves all your outrage. This is America, a strange place.
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) March 26, 2019House Democrats grilled DeVos in a budget hearing Tuesday, with Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., calling the cut "appalling."
Others calling on DeVos to rethink the decision include former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, and Julie Foudy, former captain of the U.S. women's soccer team.
A department spokeswoman says DeVos supports the organization and has donated to it in the past.
-AP
