Today, on the heels of Donald Trump effectively gutting the U.S. Department of Education, three educators-turned-Democratic governors condemned Donald Trump’s attacks on public education and his ultimate goal of dismantling this critical agency.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, Delaware Governor Matt Meyer, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz discussed how Democratic governors are preparing to fight to protect students and public schools in their states and slammed the Trump administration for pushing tax breaks for billionaires at the expense of America’s children, teachers, and working families.
Watch the full press call here.
“Former educators, we’re going to fight like hell to make sure our public schools and nation delivers on a promise that ensures that every kid receives a high quality education…” said Governor Tony Evers. “President Trump and Republicans want to eliminate the Department of Education, cut funding to our public schools, sell out Wisconsin kids and schools all so that they can pay for tax breaks to rich millionaires and billionaires like Elon Musk. And I’m sorry, but that is bullshit. I know Wisconsin kids and our schools. Getting rid of the U.S. Department of Education and making devastating cuts to public education would be a catastrophe – simple as that.”
“It doesn’t take a math teacher to tell you that the numbers are not adding up right now. Here’s the bottom line: eliminating the Department of Education hurts our kids and it hurts our economy. From Main Street to Wall Street to Sesame Street, these cuts will reverberate indefinitely and weaken the foundation of our workforce…” said Governor Matt Meyer. “Every path to reducing poverty in America, every path to increasing opportunity for working people, runs through our education system. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for cutting bureaucracy, but we cannot cut bureaucracy on the backs of our kids and their families.”
“This is undermining our economic wellbeing for the future, it’s undermining our competitive advantage, and it’s undermining the moral authority that every child truly matters. So what Donald Trump continues to do is the idiocy of whatever he thinks at the time is a good talking point,” said Governor Tim Walz. “Linda McMahon said she fired half the [staff at the Department of Education] but only the bad ones. She missed one. She missed one for sure, and that’s herself.”
Watch the full press call here.
