President Donald Trump on Thursday said he had "overridden" proposed cuts to the U.S. government's funding of the Special Olympics, telling reporters at the White House, "The Special Olympics Olympics will be funded."
"I just authorized the funding of the Special Olympics," Trump said. "I heard about [the proposed cuts] this morning ... and I have overridden my people."
The announcement appeared to reverse the previously proposed elimination of approximately $18 million in government funding for the games, which had first appeared in the 2020 budget of the Department of Education.
The proposal sparked a public outcry, and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos struggled to defend the cuts during a congressional hearing earlier this week, where she told senators the cuts represented only a fraction of the "tough choices" the department had to make about funding. "I hope all of this debate encourages lots of private contributions to Special Olympics," she said.
From the outset, DeVos' proposed cuts were unlikely to pass in Congress, which has the final say on federal budget appropriations.
It was unclear precisely what Trump meant when he said Thursday that he had "authorized" the funding.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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