Trump admin considering cutting federal education funds to California: Report

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - The Trump administration is considering cutting federal education funds to California, according to a report Tuesday by the Politico news site.

The discussion comes amid tensions between US President Donald Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom over immigration protests and the deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles, the report said, noting that California's public schools receive nearly $8 billion annually from the Department of Education, which supports low-income students and those with disabilities.

The University of California and California State University systems also receive federal funds and are facing 3% budget cuts this year.

A Trump administration official told Politico that the Education Department may halt the disbursement of "formula funds," which are awarded under congressional guidelines. However, a final decision has yet to be made.

“No taxpayer should be forced to fund the demise of our country, and that’s what California is doing through its lunatic anti-energy, soft-on-crime, pro-child mutilation, and pro-sanctuary policies,” Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement.

“The Trump administration is committed to ending this nightmare and restoring the California Dream. No final decisions, however, on any potential future action by the Administration have been made.”

Trump decided to deploy the National Guard over the week, defying objections from Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who have warned that the action only serves to inflame tensions caused by the president's mass deportation raids.

Roughly 4,000 National Guardsmen and 700 US Marines have been deployed under Trump's orders.

The president said the National Guard would remain in Los Angeles "until there's no danger" but later claimed to have "stopped the violence in LA."

Protests erupted Friday after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided local businesses and detained hundreds of people suspected of living in the US illegally. The Trump administration has continued to carry out the raids in defiance of the community's opposition.

Critics of the raids say ICE is going after law-abiding undocumented immigrants, a vital part of the community and the local economy, rather than the criminals that Trump pledged to deport while campaigning last year to return to the White House.