NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 23: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks about gun violence in the United States during the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) on September 23, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Alex Kent/Getty Images) (Getty Images)
"The Democrats have no plan on how to recover from their embarrassing loss, and it shows. Instead of working to become a party that focuses on the will of the people, they are hell-bent on keeping their heads in the sand and gaslighting on the widely supported mission of DOGE. Slashing waste, fraud, and abuse, and becoming better stewards of the American taxpayer’s hard-earned dollars might be a crime to Democrats, but it’s not a crime in a court of law," White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary, Harrison Fields, told Fox News Digital in a statement.
Gillibrand on Sunday reminded New Yorkers that dismantling the Department of Education would require Congressional approval.
"What he's doing is illegal. It's unconstitutional. It's unconstitutional and illegal. It's unconstitutional because Congress is the only body that is allowed to decide how the taxpayer dollars that New Yorkers send to Washington is spent.
Students walk to board a school bus in Manhattan's East Village in New York City. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Hochul said defunding the Department of Education could deny students Pell Grants, a federally funded program that helps low-income students pay for college, and New York City’s public school nutrition programs, which provide free breakfast, lunch and after-school meals for students. Hochul urged New York Republicans to speak up in Washington for New York’s public school students.
"This is an outrage," Gillibrand added. "The Trump administration is stealing money from our kids, from our teachers and from our schools. These are New York tax dollars."
House Democrats were blocked from entering the Department of Education building in Washington, Feb. 7, 2025. (Fox News)
The New York Democrats said shutting down the Department of Education could cost New York’s 2.6 million students almost one billion dollars annually.
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Hochul and Gillibrand join a growing coalition of Democrats speaking out against Trump’s education plans. Democrats protested outside the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., on Friday, demanding an audience with acting education secretary Denise Carter. Carter is keeping Linda McMahon’s seat warm during her senate confirmation process.
Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/blue-state-dems-push-back-trumps-plan-shut-down-education-department