Trump Says He’s Reversing His Proposal to Cut Special Olympics Funding

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump ordered the White House to reverse his administration's proposal to cut federal funding for the Special Olympics after the plan drew widespread opposition.

“The Special Olympics will be funded,” Trump told reporters Thursday as he departed the White House for a campaign rally in Michigan.

The proposed 2020 budget that the administration sent to Congress earlier this month included a $17.6 million cut to federal funding for the Special Olympics, an organization that helps children and adults with special needs.

Trump said he'd learned of the proposed cut earlier Thursday and had moved swiftly to reverse it. “I have overridden my people. We're funding the Special Olympics,” he said.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle criticized the proposed cut as it drew public attention this week.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos defended the proposal on Wednesday, pointing out that the Special Olympics is a private program that does not solely depend on federal funding. “We had to make some hard decisions in our budget,” she said then.

After Trump's demand for funding Thursday, DeVos issued another statement thanking him. “I am pleased and grateful the president and I see eye-to-eye on this issue and that he has decided to fund our Special Olympics grant. This is funding I have fought for behind the scenes over the last several years,” she said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer Epstein in Washington at jepstein32@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, John Harney, Justin Blum

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