WASHINGTON, DC — Facing fierce backlash, President Donald Trump has backed off plans to cut funding for the Special Olympics. Trump, a Republican, told reporters Thursday he overrode his own people to fund the program.
The Trump administration’s education budget proposal calls for slashing $17.6 million in funding for the Special Olympics, according to The Associated Press. That equates to about 10 percent of the group’s overall revenue.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has taken heat since the proposal came to light. Senate Democrats pressed her on the issue at a budget hearing Thursday days after House Democrats grilled her.
DeVos said she “wasn’t personally involved” in pushing for the cuts. However, she defended the move as her agency tries to cut $7 billion from the 2020 budget. In a statement Wednesday, DeVos said her proposal reflects “current budget realities” and has been unfairly portrayed.
“It is unacceptable, shameful and counterproductive that the media and some members of Congress have spun up falsehoods and fully misrepresented the facts,” DeVos wrote.
DeVos noted at the time that the Special Olympics isn’t a federal program, it’s a private organization that receives about $100 million a year in philanthropic support. The billionaire education secretary is among the charity’s donors.
The Special Olympics was founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the world’s largest sporting group for people with intellectual disabilities. The Special Olympics website says it works with more than 5 million athletes in 174 countries.
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