Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday seemed to bolster President Donald Trump’s threat to cut funding for schools that don’t reopen in the fall.
When asked during a press briefing if Trump was serious about his threat, Pence noted that “roughly ten percent” of states’ education funding comes from the federal government (however, that funding is ultimately determined by Congress, not the White House).
“As we work with Congress on the next round of state support, we’re going to be working for ways to give states a strong incentive and an encouragement to get kids back to school,” the vice president said.
Pence mentioned budgetary “incentives” again after he was asked why local governments shouldn’t be the ones to decide whether schools reopen instead of Trump pressuring them to do so.
“What you’re going to see is the President is going to continue to provide leadership,” the vice president told reporters. “I expect as the debate in Congress goes forward about additional resources, we’re going to look into building incentives for states to go forward.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump accused Democrats of believing reopening schools “would be bad for them politically” via Twitter.
“May cut off funding if not open!” he threatened.
Perfect. Absolutely perfect.
Is it still culturally appropriate to call it “blackmail”?
Because that’s EXACTLY what it is…
I feel like I’m missing something. Isn’t separation of powers relevant here? The Executive Branch cannot legally just withhold Congressionally appropriated funds for whatever reason strikes their fancy.
If Congress passes a budget with funds being allocated to states, and either the President signs off on the budget or it becomes law in spite of his veto, that’s the end of the story. He’s not legally allowed to just say “We’re going to sit on your money because we want to.”
(sigh)
“Pence noted that “roughly percent” of states’ education funding comes from the federal government”
Um, did he really not put a number in there or did the author miss it?