As has been widely reported, on June 30, 2025, the Trump Administration froze about $6.8 billion in federal education funding that was scheduled to be released the very next day. The move created an immediate crisis for school districts–rural, suburban, and urban, rich and poor–across the country. Critical programs were threatened, including after-school programs, teacher training, migrant-education grants (which are actually not programs for “illegal immigrants”), and STEM programs. As a result of the freeze, schools were forced to plan layoffs and other cuts to compensate for the loss of previously-assured funding. A little less than a month later, the Administration decided to release the money.
The Administration’s decision to release the money, which should not have been withheld in the first place, is not an occasion for expressions of gratitude. Just as we don’t reward an arsonist who starts a fire and then pulls a fire alarm, so we should not applaud the Trump Administration for creating chaos and then restoring order.
As Steven Johnson, Superintendent of the Fort Ransom (N.D.) School District, told The Atlantic’s Toluse Olorunnipa, “After months of being told to ‘wait it out,’ districts are now supposed to pick up the pieces and act like everything’s fine.” Dr. Johnson went on to say, “I’ve got to be honest–this doesn’t sit well out here. You can’t freeze money that was already allocated, leave schools hanging through hiring season and budget planning, and then expect us to just be grateful when it finally shows up. Rural folks don’t like being jerked around.” (Olorunnipa’s article, by the way, is excellent, so if you have access to The Atlantic, it is well worth reading.)
Dr. Johnson’s observation points to a series of broader problems.
First, this Administration not only doesn’t worry about jerking us around but it thinks it has a right to do so if the dear leader enjoys it (which he does). That’s the way authoritarians roll: “I’ll do it because I can. And you’ll accept it because you must.” This means that Trump will keep jerking us around until we make it clear that he can’t get away with it.
Second, the Administration has consistently been hostile to education, which isn’t surprising for an Administration run by a demented sociopath who has contempt for science, reality, facts, and the ability to think.
And third, this Administration thrives on chaos and cruelty. It’s what Trump uses for oxygen.
What should give some of us hope is that people (including people who probably voted for Trump) are starting to push back. As Trump’s incompetence and chaotic management style cause more and more pain across the country, there is a pretty good chance that resistance to the Administration will grow. We’ll see what effects–if any–such resistance has on state and federal Republican office holders. But the gerrymandering efforts in Texas (and that are starting in other Republican strongholds) suggest that the Republicans know that the people are turning against them.