Appearing on Face The Nation Sunday, Senator Rand Paul told viewers that the Education Department hasn’t done enough to justify its existence and President Trumps is right to end it.
When asked by activist anchor Margaret Brennan whether low-income schools would continue to receive federal subsidies if the Department is closed, Paul responded “I think the bigger question is, if we’re sending all this money to Kentucky and all the other states, why are our scores abysmal?”
“Why do two-thirds of the kids not read at proficiency? Why do two-thirds of the kids or more not have math proficiency?” Paul further urged.
“It’s been an utter failure,” Paul continued, adding “I’d leave it back to the states. It has always been a position, a very mainstream Republican position, to have control of the schools by the states, send the money back to the states, or, better yet, never take it from the states.”
“When I talk to teachers, they chafe at the national mandates on testing, they think are not appropriate for their kids,” the Senator explained, adding “They think they waste too much time teaching to national testing. The teachers would like more autonomy, and I think the teachers deserve more autonomy.”
After President Trump's cuts to the U.S. Education Department, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) says he'd like to see "an NBA or NFL of teachers," with "the most extraordinary teachers" reaching "the entire country" or "the entire world" virtually.
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) March 23, 2025
"What we need to do is have the best… pic.twitter.com/bgreJj8NS6
Paul reasoned that he would rather have “a guarantee that my kids can read and write and do math” than worry about the federal government throwing billions of dollars at education without a coherent plan.
“The number of dollars has gone up exponentially and our scores have gone the other way,” he said, adding “So dollars are not proportional to educational success. What I want is success.”
“I think there are innovations we can do where there’s more learning via some of the best teachers and we pay them more. I would like to have an NBA or NFL of teachers, the most extraordinary teachers, teach the entire country, if not the entire world,” Paul asserted.
Elsewhere during the interview, the Senator spoke about pitching a plan to Elon Musk for reclaiming over $500 billion in federal funding that the previous Congress approved.
“This goes to another huge legal question. Can the President impound money, or does he have to send it back, and we approve the cuts through recission? And this is going all the way to the Supreme Court also,” Paul said.
“Can Secretary Rubio pause the spending? On that issue, I think they will win. You will be able to pause spending,” Paul further commented, adding “It is my personal belief we should adhere to the law as it is now. That is send it back and have Congress confirm it. It’s a simple majority vote. It’s called rescission. I did mention this to Elon Musk. He seemed enthusiastic.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who has pitched Elon Musk on clawing back hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding already approved to Congress, says he believes President Trump can get enough Republicans on board to officially approve the plan.
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) March 23, 2025
"I think the president is going… pic.twitter.com/becig9WEWn
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