White House trade adviser Larry Kudlow said on Monday that President Donald Trump is mulling setting aside funds to assist with school reopenings in the fall, as part of the federal government’s next round of COVID-19 relief aid.
“The President has said that he’s willing to consider additional aid, talking about the next care package, in order to help reopen the schools,” Kudlow said during an interview on Fox Business.
The adviser argued that keeping the schools closed would be a “setback to a true economic recovery.”
“So let’s not go there. Let’s use some American ingenuity and common sense to get the schools open,” he said.
Trump and his administration have made a heavy push for the reopening of schools in recent days, with the President going as far as threatening last week to yank funding from schools that remain closed, though he would not have the authority to do so. Vice President Mike Pence told reporters on Wednesday that the White House would look into “building incentives” for schools to reopen “as the debate in Congress goes forward about additional resources.”
Educators and officials across the U.S. have criticized the Trump administration for pushing school reopenings, primarily because there is not funding in place to do so safely and because it will put children and minority families at a greater health risk.
Watch Kudlow below:
WH adviser says Trump "willing to consider additional aid" to schools that reopen in the fall. pic.twitter.com/Jpnpt8ADqF
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) July 13, 2020
