| | | | Has Betsy DeVos' time come? |  | | If there's one thing that Donald Trump hates more than anything, it's people who work for him drawing negative headlines.
Attracting bad press has spelled the end for the likes of Trump appointees Tom Price (Health and Human Services), Ryan Zinke (Interior), Scott Pruitt (EPA) and David Shulkin (VA) among many, many others. (As of March 25, 66% of Trump's "A" Team -- Cabinet officials and senior staff across the government -- has turned over since he became president, according to figures kept by Kathryn Dunn Tenpas of Brookings.)
Which brings me to Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. And the week she has spent defending the cuts to Special Olympics programs in schools in her proposed 2019 budget. Amid rising fury from lawmakers, DeVos insisted, "I think the Special Olympics is an awesome organization, one that is supported by the philanthropic sector as well." Which means: The Special Olympics can easily raise the money from the private sector, so why does the government need to fund it?
Politically speaking, of course, that is insanity. The Special Olympics is something that is universally popular. Cutting it -- in any way, shape or form -- is bad politics. Especially when there is 0% chance that Congress will approve of those cuts. (A Republican House and Senate rejected DeVos' proposed cuts to the Special Olympics in each of the last two years; they were DOA with a Democratic-controlled House.)
Which, you would think, DeVos would know. Except that DeVos has done this sort of thing before. A lot. There was the time when DeVos fled protesters during a visit to a DC public school. And her disastrous "60 Minutes" interview. Or when she called Historically Black Colleges and Universities "pioneers of school choice." You get the idea. DeVos attracts negative headlines like Twitter attracts trolls.
Trump threw DeVos under the bus Thursday afternoon before he jetted to Michigan for a campaign rally. "I have overridden my people," he said. "We're funding the Special Olympics."
Which, oomph. Actually: Double oomph.
The Point: DeVos has never been a star in the Trump Cabinet. But she's hung on. Is this Special Olympics debacle the blow from which she can't recover?
-- Chris | | "If the bully gets close, I'll punch the bully in the mouth."
-- Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, telling CNN that his officials would not be bullied by the White House as they seek more disaster relief support. | | |  | Donald Trump's major 2020 gamble on health care | | Fresh off the Mueller investigation, President Trump is supporting a ruling that calls for an elimination of Obamacare. With no replacement in sight, a battle over health care could end up deciding the 2020 election.
Have you decided to subscribe to The Point on YouTube? | | | Karen O (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Danger Mouse? Um, YES. | | The first DNC-sponsored debate of the 2020 cycle is officially on the calendar: The two-night event is set for June 26 and June 27 in Miami.
The debate lineups for each night, due to the high number of candidates, will be determined at random to provide each candidate with a fair opportunity to make his or her case to a large, national audience, according to the DNC. | |
LAUREN'S LATEST ON THE TRAIL | | Donald Trump: Travels to Grand Rapids, Michigan, tonight for a campaign rally.
Wayne Messam: The mayor of Miramar, Florida, has announced a 2020 presidential bid.
Stacey Abrams: Is not interested in being Joe Biden's VP pick just yet, saying on "The View" that "you don't run for second place."
Kirsten Gillibrand: Is the latest Democrat to release her tax returns. | | Former FBI Director James Comey is like all of us, indulging in an Instagram post every once and a while -- and recycling an especially useful caption.
Comey used the site today to plug new material (out May 7, according to his caption) -- adding "Lordy, there will be more tapes."
Comey has dropped this "tapes" joke before in reference to his audio book, seemingly to troll President Trump, who tweeted shortly after firing Comey that the former FBI director should hope Trump doesn't release "tapes" of their conversations.
"Lordy, I hope there are tapes," Comey responded in congressional testimony. | | | | | | |
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