Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said Tuesday on Newsmax he's "all for" President Donald Trump's plan to largely dismantle the federal Department of Education and return much of its functionality back to the states.
"I think, with our nation $37 trillion in debt, every American ought to be asking, when it comes to the Department of Education, Did it work?" Johnson told "National Report." "We spend more than a couple hundred billion dollars a year. Obamacare federalized student loans to pay for Obamacare, enticing our children to collectively incur $1.7 trillion in student loan debt. Primarily the result of that was driving up the cost of college. Have test scores skyrocketed together with the federal spending?
"So, again, from my standpoint, the federal government ought to have almost zero role in education. That should be a state and local function close to the students, close to their parents. Government close to government, where it's more accountable, more efficient, more effective."
Trump said Monday that Education Secretary Linda McMahon will begin the process of shutting down the department after the Supreme Court greenlit the president's plan with a ruling earlier in the day that upheld the reduction of the federal workforce by nearly 1,400 employees.
Johnson stressed that he sees a "very limited role" for the Education Department in the federal government going forward and pointed out that former President Ronald Reagan "wanted to abolish it."
"I wish he would have, and we wouldn't even be having this conversation," he said. "But I'm all for President Trump sending back this function back to the states. Again, we're $37 trillion in debt. We can't afford to be wasting money ineffectively through the Department of Education."
Switching gears, the Wisconsin senator also commented on Trump's deal to sell U.S. weaponry to NATO to provide to Ukraine for its defense against Russia, calling it "a significant difference in terms of his approach."
"He's literally refocused NATO, got NATO countries to increase their own spending on defense so that they don't have to rely on America to come to Europe to defend them," Johnson said. "They will defend themselves.
"The fact of the matter is that President Trump, I think, has given [Russian President] Vladimir Putin every opportunity to achieve peace," he added. "And Vladimir Putin, like the [Iranian] ayatollahs, didn't take him up on the offer. Vladimir Putin ought to take President Trump seriously. So, I think he's lost his patience, and the good news is Europe is willing to defend itself and help Ukraine."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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