Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty addresses DOGE, Department of Education
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — As threats to end the Department of Education continue, U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) discussed the importance of literacy and public education Friday in a reading event for local elementary schoolers.
Beatty visited Woodcrest Elementary School as part of Read Across America week where she read stories aloud to students and celebrated learning. She spoke with NBC4 after the event, where she said she loved seeing the excitement among students.
She also said the Department of Education is crucial for schools like the one she spoke in today, and she hopes the administration backtracks threats to cut the department. Beatty said Congress — not the White House — has the power to fund and sustain the Department of Education. She said she is certain the effort to close the department will end up in court.
'I think it's important to say to little children, and especially little Black children, that we will not let this administration illegally do away with the Department of Education,' Beatty said. 'We will not let him cut veterans' programs and housing programs, and so we wanted to stand in solidarity.'
Sen. Bernie Moreno on tariffs, education and immigration
As part of that solidarity Beatty also stood by Rep. Al Green (D-TX), saying his actions were appropriate. Green was censured this week for his protest during President Donald Trump's address to Congress this week, marking a formal condemnation of his actions. Beatty was not one of the 10 Democrats who joined Republicans in favor of the censure.
Beatty also said Democrats in Congress are learning about federal office closures and layoffs at the same time as their constituents — after the notices have already gone out. She said federal workers are swarming Congressional phones about the flurry of layoffs.
'The phones are ringing off the hook, people are scared, people want to know if they are going to get paid, they want to know what happens to them next,' Beatty said. 'When you look at these offices and the individuals that are working in these offices, they are the lifeline to many of these programs.'
Beatty also condemned Republican colleagues as 'childish' for not standing up against calls to repeal the bipartisan CHIPS Act or Elon Musk-backed DOGE cuts. She said Musk is not elected and not confirmed, and she feels the administration is not putting people first.
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