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CV NEWS FEED // The White House hosted a roundtable discussion on school choice Friday featuring top state officials to advance and promote education freedom nationwide.
The discussion took place in the White House’s Roosevelt Room. Participants included President Donald Trump, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, all Republicans.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Friday afternoon that Trump had just left the roundtable at the time.
Leavitt, a Catholic, noted that it is National School Choice Week, and the roundtable was “part of the president’s commitment to education.”
“The nation’s report card was released this week and the news is not good,” Leavitt said at the Friday press conference. “It showed that U.S. students had record-low reading comprehension scores last year.”
Gov. Lee’s attendance at the roundtable was notable given that his state’s legislature had passed a nearly-half-billion-dollar universal school choice bill the day before. The Tennessee governor has voiced support for the bill and is expected to sign it in the coming days.
Gov. Sanders, who attended the roundtable with her 12-year-old daughter, expressed optimism about Trump’s support for school choice.
“He’s empowering states and empowering parents to take control of their kids’ education again,” the governor said ahead of the roundtable. “I’m a mom. I have three kids and they all three learn differently,” she told FOX News late Friday morning.
“So, trying to shove one-size-fits-all model down everybody’s throat is never going to work,” added Sanders, who had served as Trump’s White House Press Secretary during a portion of his first term. “That’s why you’re seeing so many states around the country start to open up parental choice, universal school choice … it’s something we did in the first few months of my administration.”
After the roundtable had concluded, Sanders wrote on X: “Great to be back at the White House with my daughter Scarlett to talk about education freedom.”
“When President @realDonaldTrump first took office there were 0 states with universal school choice,” added the governor, who had signed a comprehensive education freedom package into law two years ago. “Today there are 12 – and growing. Thank you Mr. President for your leadership!”
Lt. Gov. Patrick similarly appeared enthusiastic about Trump’s support for school choice, including the legislation currently under consideration in the Lone Star State.
The president is “all in on school choice,” the Texas lieutenant governor said after the roundtable. He stated that Trump is “excited about Senate Bill 2 which will pass out the Senate next week. A billion dollars for parents and school choice.”
“Trump said, whatever it takes, he’ll help us to be sure” the school choice bill passes in the Texas House of Representatives, Patrick added. Although it is controlled by Republicans, the Texas House is widely considered to have a more liberal leadership than the Texas Senate.
The Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan noted that a senior member of the Trump administration had told her the president “wants parents throughout the nation to be empowered to direct their children’s education.”
“The White House is excited to honor National School Choice Week with this roundtable,” the White House official added.
Olohan reported that the roundtable came just “two days after Trump signed an executive order on school choice.” CatholicVote indicated at the time that in the order, the president pledged “that his administration will fully support legislative efforts to achieve school choice.”
>> WEDNESDAY: TRUMP PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR SCHOOL CHOICE VIA EXECUTIVE ORDER <<
