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Claim: President Trump can cut off funding for schools. Fact check: Mixed

President Donald Trump
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

President Trump cannot unilaterally cut federal funding for schools, as highlighted by House Democrats on June 8.

"Congress provides federal education funding to support some of the most vulnerable young people in our country," said Evan Hollander, a spokesman for the Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee. "The president has no authority to cut off funding for these students, and threatening to do so to prop up his flailing campaign is offensive."

However, Trump could restrict some pandemic relief funding and decline to sign or veto future legislation for federal grants and bailouts for schools.


Trump and his administration have previously proposed cutting federal grants for schools as well as reducing the Education Department's budget, but Congress, which has oversight power when it comes to federal grants, has continued to reject these proposals.

"As with all legislation generally, Congress oversees the grant's implementation to ensure that the federal administrating agency is held accountable," as stated in a 2019 report from the Congressional Research Service on federal grants.

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Project 2025: Anti-Abortion Blueprint Quietly Taking Hold

A stethoscope and gavel.

Getty Images, ATU Images

Project 2025: Anti-Abortion Blueprint Quietly Taking Hold

Last spring and summer, The Fulcrum published a 30-part series on Project 2025. Now that Donald Trump’s second term has started, Part 2 of the series has commenced.

While the national spotlight often falls on state-level abortion bans or Supreme Court rulings, a quieter but more transformative effort is underway in Washington. In his second term, President Donald Trump is not simply revisiting past culture war battles—he’s enacting a structural overhaul of federal reproductive health policy, rooted in a sweeping plan known as Project 2025.

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Chicago Head Start Programs Face Uncertainty After Regional Office Closure

Morning drop-off at the Carole Robertson Center for Learning.

Claire Murphy

Chicago Head Start Programs Face Uncertainty After Regional Office Closure

ALBANY PARK – The laughter of preschool children permeates the hallways of the Carole Robertson Center for Learning on a sunny Thursday morning in Albany Park.

Teachers line their students up outside classrooms, counting names off one by one. Children congregate by their playmats and colorful rugs, about to be served breakfast.

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Treasury Secretary Bessent Foreshadows Trade Deals With Major Economic Partners

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent talks with Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-NC, after testifying in front of the House Appropriations Committee May 6, 2025.

Athan Yanos/MNS.

Treasury Secretary Bessent Foreshadows Trade Deals With Major Economic Partners

WASHINGTON – Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attempted to reassure Americans about the state of the U.S. economy, despite President Donald Trump’s major economic changes and the instability they have brought to the stock market.

“In the first 100 days of the new administration, we have set the table for a robust economy that allows Main Street to grow with Congress and the White House working hand in hand. We expect to see even more positive results over the next few months,” Bessent told the House Appropriations Committee last week.

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Cancer Research in the U.S. Is World Class Because of Its Broad Base of Funding − With the Government Pulling Out, Its Future Is Uncertain

Without federal support, the lights will turn off in many labs across the country.

Getty Images, Thomas Barwick

Cancer Research in the U.S. Is World Class Because of Its Broad Base of Funding − With the Government Pulling Out, Its Future Is Uncertain

Cancer research in the U.S. doesn’t rely on a single institution or funding stream − it’s a complex ecosystem made up of interdependent parts: academia, pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology startups, federal agencies and private foundations. As a cancer biologist who has worked in each of these sectors over the past three decades, I’ve seen firsthand how each piece supports the others.

When one falters, the whole system becomes vulnerable.

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