Elizabeth Warren Goes Nuclear on Trump and DeVos' Plan to Gut Education Beyond All Recognition

Alexandra Rosenmann
,
 AlterNet
and
 Alexandra Rosenmann
May 23, 2017

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos finds herself under fire again, this time for a proposed $10.6 billion budget cut to her department. And much as she did during DeVos' confirmation hearing in February, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is leading the opposition. 

Since January, when DeVos was handpicked for the role, "the big complaint was that this is a woman who does not believe in public education," Warren argued Monday. "Well she just proved it." 

"They want to take away 22 programs that help kids K-12," she continued. Warren explained that the Trump/DeVos budget would virtually eliminate: 

  • After-school programs
  • Teacher training 
  • Class size reduction
  • School arts programs
  • Physical education programs
  • Foreign language programs
  • Education technology
  • Mental health services
  • Bullying initiatives 
  • Special Olympics

"This is an unbelievable statement of where Trump and DeVos want to take this country," Warren noted, before drawing attention to a cut she called "especially awful."

"They want to roll back the student loan subsidies for low-income college students," she said. In other words, "make student loans more expensive for the students who have the most trouble."

"Here's the bottom line," Warren concluded. "The Trump/DeVos budget would push opportunities out of reach of millions of students across this country; it would ruin lives." 

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