Gov. McKee Condemns Trump Administration’s Move to Cut Education Funding

PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee condemned the Trump Administration’s move to gut the U.S. Department of Education and slash federal funding.

“Rhode Island is committed to building a stronger, more resilient future through education," McKee said in a statement issued Tuesday.

"Our RI 2030 plan outlines a clear vision: to ensure every student in our state receives a high-quality education. But recent cuts to crucial federal education funding and the Supreme Court’s decision allowing the Trump Administration to gut the U.S. Department of Education represent a direct threat to that mission, not only here in Rhode Island, but across the country," McKee said.

“Education is not a line item — it is a national imperative," the governor said.

Rhode Island Attorney General General Peter F. Neronha co-led a coalition of 23 attorneys general and two governors in filing a lawsuit in Rhode Island against the Trump Administration over its decision to freeze more than $6 billion in federal education grants for K-12 schools and adult education.

"Education is critically important to Americans’ development, mobility, and success, which is probably why the President seeks to undermine it,” Neronha said in a statement. “Each and every time this Administration unlawfully withholds critical federal funding, they know that what they are doing is unconstitutional, and yet they ignore the law anyway."