Harvard isn’t the only school worried that the Trump administration will screw over their funding. Public schools get their fair share of funding from the government too — at least they should. On Monday, several states filed suit to challenge the Trump administration’s decision to withhold $6.8B worth of Congressionally approved funding meant for K-12 schools. Reuters has coverage:
Attorneys general or governors from 24 states and the District of Columbia sued in federal court in Providence, Rhode Island, arguing that the U.S. Department of Education and the Office of Management and Budget threw schools nationwide into chaos by unconstitutionally freezing funding for six programs approved by Congress…The government was legally required to release the money to the states by July 1, the lawsuit said. Instead, the Education Department notified states on June 30 that it would not be issuing grant awards under those programs by that deadline. It cited the change in administration as its reason.
If you’re gonna usurp Congress’s power over the purse, doing it to prevent educating children has to be one of the worst ways to go about doing it. Playing the “Will I, Won’t I” game with tariffs is terrible for the supply chain, but at least the consequences fall most obviously on business owners and adults. Disrupted funding has lead to summer school and summer camp cancellations. Is making sure little Timmy can’t afford to go to summer camp really worth owning the libs?
The good news is that the law seems to be on the suing states’ side. Given the gut-check Constitutional wrongfulness of withholding the funds, the administration has a steep climb ahead. Unless they get some judge like James Ho who sees this as an opportunity to prove fealty to the King. Let’s hope the funding comes through for the teachers’ sake — it’s hard enough for them to provide for their classrooms as is.
Trump Sued By US States Over Withholding $6.8 Billion For Schools [Reuters]
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim, is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
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