The Trump administration is considering cutting federal education funding to California as tensions between the White House and Governor Gavin Newsom continue to escalate.
Trump has deployed thousands of National Guard troops and 700 U.S. Marines to quash Los Angeles protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. Stretches of city freeways have been overrun by protesters, and police cars were destroyed in the demonstrations.
Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have called on the president to rescind the order and return control of the National Guard to the state. The last time a president made such a move was in 1965 when President Lyndon B Johnson sent troops to Alabama to disperse pro-segregation protestors.
Due to Newsom’s actions, administration officials said the Education Department may stop the disbursement of “formula funds” to California, according to Politico. The federal payouts are distributed to schools and school districts based on a predetermined formula to assist with education.
It’s not clear if the administration will move forward with barring the funds. Public schools in California receive $8bn from the Education Department annually. Some of the payouts go toward programs for students with disabilities and from low-income homes.
In a statement to the outlet, Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson, said: “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.
“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.”
It’s not the first time the president has threatened to withhold federal funds from California.
As the state fought off several wildfires in January, Trump threatened to bar California from accepting federal disaster funds unless state leaders changed water policies.
In May, Trump once again threatened to take away federal funds from California if a transgender athlete participated in a girls’ track meet.
The Los Angeles protests are largely in response to immigration raids that are being carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the area. Approximately 900,000 undocumented people live in the city, while 4.8m people of Latino heritage live in the city.
