Karoline Leavitt Defends President Trump's Criticisms Of The Department Of Education

yesterday

During a gaggle with reporters on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about President Trump's plans for the Department of Education.

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Transcript

00:00Caroline, what do you say to critics of the President's education plan?

00:05Where was their criticism of our nation's failing test scores for the last several decades?

00:12The Department of Education was founded in the 1970s and since then we have spent more

00:16than $3 trillion at this federal bureaucracy.

00:21What has been the return on that investment for the American taxpayer?

00:26Levels that are less than ideal, less than proficient.

00:29Our children's test scores are incredibly concerning when it comes to reading rates,

00:34literacy rates, math and science test scores.

00:38The numbers prove that and the President is finally, this President is finally taking

00:43much needed action to return education to where it belongs and that's to educators closest

00:49to students in their classrooms in their respective states.

00:52We're going to have a great event here later at 4 o'clock.

00:54There will be students here, teachers here, parents here, educators and of course governors

01:00from around the country who are very excited about taking on this responsibility to educate

01:04our nation's students.

01:05Who's going to run federal student loans?

01:07So the Department of Education will be much smaller than it is today.

01:11As you know, the President's executive order directed Linda McMahon to greatly minimize

01:15the agency.

01:16So when it comes to student loans and Pell Grants, those will still be run out of the

01:20Department of Education, but we don't need to be spending more than $3 trillion over

01:24the course of a few decades on a department that's clearly failing in its initial intention

01:29to educate our students.

01:30So is the federal government going to be spending less?

01:31How is this going to be much smaller than it is?

01:32Is it not going to be shut down completely?

01:33And then I have a second question.

01:37As I said, Pell Grants and student loans will still be run out of the department in Washington

01:42D.C., but the great responsibility of education, educating our nation's students will return

01:47to the states.

01:49The Department of Education plays a critical role in enforcing civil rights laws that prohibit

01:54discrimination.

01:55Who's going to do that now?

01:56Any critical functions of the department such as that will remain, but again, we're greatly

02:01reducing the scale and the size of this department.

02:04What about federal Title I funding and special education funding?

02:07Same answer.

Karoline Leavitt Defends President Trump's Criticisms Of The Department Of Education

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