This afternoon, almost a dozen key Republican U.S. Senators released a letter urging the Trump administration to release billions of dollars in federal education funding that we have written about over the past several days. The letter challenges the withholding of the $6.8 billion in education funding that was passed as part of the FY 2025 Continuing Resolution signed by President Trump last March and expected by schools as we start our fiscal year.

This rare pushback from members of the president’s own party marks a very positive sign for the potential of getting these dollars ultimately released, but the fight on multiple fronts is far from over. This development comes two days after the filing of litigation by California and a cohort of other states challenging the legitimacy of the administration’s action. We anticipate that the request to force distribution of the funds will be acted upon within days or weeks, not months. As you will remember, the administration’s letter to CDE and other states during the last week of June paused the anticipated July 1st distribution of $6.8 billion in appropriated funds with the suggestion that the programs were under “review” for alignment with the President’s priorities. In discussions with many in DC and among those who influence the Trump administration, it is clear to us that they intend to permanently withhold the funding in complete violation of the law and the Congressional authorizing process. As you know, these grants support after-school programs, teacher training, services for migrant students, and other initiatives.

“Withholding these funds will harm students, families, and local economies,” the group of Republican senators wrote in the letter Wednesday to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought. “The decision to withhold this funding is contrary to President Trump’s goal of returning K-12 education to the states.”

The letter was a collaboration of Senators Shelley Moore Capito (West Virginia), John Boozman (Arkansas), Katie Britt (Alabama), Susan Collins (Maine), Deb Fischer (Nebraska), John Hoeven (North Dakota), Jim Justice (West Virginia), Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Mike Rounds (South Dakota). The group of Senate lawmakers added, “We share your concern about taxpayer money going to fund radical left-wing programs, however, we do not believe that is happening with these funds.” They emphasized that the grants support programs with broad, bipartisan backing. These include after-school and summer initiatives that help children learn and grow while also supporting working families and local economies.

We have heard, and OMB Director Vought has confirmed, that the money could be included in a future rescission package. This is a time consuming, but legal legislative tool that could allow the White House to propose taking back funds already approved by Congress. You have probably heard about the current “Rescission” proposal that involves taking funds away from NASA and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting among other cuts, but any effort to use the same approach for our education funding would require a separate Rescission proposal that would take even longer for the administration to achieve. We are hoping to see action in the courts well before the administration could pursue the additional rescissions.

It is interesting to note for Republicans that a recent analysis by New America, a think tank with progressive leanings, school districts represented by Republican lawmakers are expected to lose more money per student from the funding freeze than those represented by Democrats. They have pointed out that across four key K-12 federal programs, districts in Republican-led areas stand to lose funding at a rate 1.6 times higher per pupil compared to those in Democratic districts. We will keep you posted as this issue continues to evolve.