Education secretary Betsy DeVos tried to throw someone under the bus after being blasted for proposing $18 million in cuts to the Special Olympics. After being called “heartless”, “cold” and well, a lot more we can’t say, DeVos says she wasn’t personally involved with proposing the cuts and that she was only tasked with presenting them. DeVos also alluded during a subcommittee meeting on budgets that the private sector could come in and save the Special Olympics.
It is unacceptable, shameful and counterproductive that the media and some members of Congress have spun up falsehoods and fully misrepresented the facts. Let me correct the record for you:https://t.co/cGhrDY2JEt
— Betsy DeVos (@BetsyDeVosED) March 27, 2019
Politician, celebrities and athletes have defended Special Olympics, which serves nearly 300,000 athletes ages 8 and up. Former U.S. women’s national soccer team captain and ESPN host Julie Foudy tweeted “We need Special Olympics.”
Betsy DeVos owns a $40 million yacht. She could sell it and fund the Special Olympics and she wouldn’t even be out of yachts.
— Jennifer Wright (@JenAshleyWright) March 28, 2019
Please read this @BetsyDeVosED. God, you need to only spend .01 minute watching these @SpecialOlympics athletes perform to understand the power of this program. https://t.co/kg5vemPUfu
— Julie Foudy (@JulieFoudy) March 26, 2019
I see Betsy DeVos and the GOP are doubling down on their Anti-Everybody agenda by working to cut Fed funding for *the Special Olympics.*
The good news? You elected a House Dem majority, so we can halt it.
Now: who are your favorite disability advocates to follow? Share below ⬇️ https://t.co/8LSl5RSed7
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 28, 2019
Betsy DeVos defends slashing funds for the Special Olympics https://t.co/UlaY4DQ0DI pic.twitter.com/7IrxlssNWa
— TIME (@TIME) March 27, 2019
