TODAY’S newspaper (Tuesday, July 22, 2025) contains a story in which Congresswoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds “clarified” that Federal grants for PSS have been “withheld, not reduced.” This is a distinction without a difference.
To be precise, the Congresswoman said, “those funds have not been cut, but they are being withheld pending review by the Department of Education.” “Withheld pending review by the Department of Education,” she says. Why? For what? By whom?
The bottom-line is that PSS cannot spend the money and cannot realistically include it in any planning for future spending. So what is the Congresswoman’s point? Why is she telling us this?
The obvious implication is she is telling us that maybe “after review” by the people in control in Washington, D.C., maybe part or all of the $4.5 million, maybe some or all of the 24% reduction (withholding?) in PSS’s usual annual Consolidated Grant award will be released or restored or whatever word applies to un-withholding. She is telling us we can hope, that all we have to do is trust her and her Republican colleagues.
So she is telling us that despite objective reality (“Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes”), this is not really a big deal. Why? Because “DOE is taking similar action with education grants to all states and territories.” We knew that. It is Republican policy to destroy the U.S. Department of Education. The consequences of that will fall on every state and territory — the CNMI does not get an exemption.
The Congresswoman tells us that she is “working to obtain clear answers about the status of key programs affected by the hold.” From a Democratic perspective, the answers are already quite clear: Republicans in Washington, D.C. are hostile to programs that benefit and protect children — especially those children who are the most vulnerable.
The programs “affected by the hold” have already been identified: English language support, effective instruction, after-school activities, student support and academic enrichment initiatives, professional development for educators, and student career readiness, and, undoubtedly, more.
What does “withheld pending review” really mean, anyway? To answer that question we need to look at who is making the decisions and what their publicly stated goals are. Again, what we are dealing with is Republican policy, not some theoretical or intellectual exercise, or random spin of the roulette wheel.
The current Secretary of Education is Linda McMahon, whose pathway to power was by becoming a billionaire via pro-wrestling’s World Wrestling Entertainment franchise (the modern-day version of Roman gladiators). The Secretary of Education in President Trump’s first term was Besty DeVoss, who said in 2022 that the U.S. Department of Education should be abolished. President Trump, for his part, on March 25, 2020, issued an Executive Order deceptively entitled, “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, Students, and Communities.” Section 2 of that Order directs the Secretary of the Department of Education to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education.”
The Executive Order does say that this goal of abolishing USDOE is to be accomplished “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law,” but that of course means as subjectively determined by the President and the Education Secretary, not by some objective standard or taking account of the views of teachers, parents, and students, or even local governments.
Even more troubling, the Executive Order explicitly condemns some of the things we in the CNMI consider extremely important: anything that could be put “under the label ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ or similar terms and programs promoting [so-called] gender ideology.” It demands “rigorous compliance” that these GOP bogeymen be excised from anything funded by the federal government. This is what the Republicans mean by “under review.”
So “withheld” means the USDOE still has it, but we don’t get it unless somebody in the Trump administration is satisfied that our Public School System will toe the Washington, D.C. GOP right-wing line and not use any of the money for things they don’t like. And there are a lot of things they don’t like: anything they would label as DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion); LGBTQ+ students; trans students; affirming gender identity; pronouns; special needs and disabilities; pre-school and childcare programs; support for Palestinians, Medicaid; food stamps; perhaps even free school breakfasts and lunches.
All of us in the CNMI need to accept the reality that this is the new Republican Party and refashion our allegiances and political support accordingly.
Tremendous praise is due to Commissioner of Education Dr. Lawrence F. Camacho, Board of Education Chair Kodep Ogumoro-Uludong, and the entire Board of Education for their work to ensure that the CNMI’s students continue to receive the full range of services they need in this coming 2025-26 school year despite what is happening in Washington, D.C.
Congresswoman Kimberly King-Hinds needs to spend less time providing cover for her fellow Republicans and focus more on fighting for people of the CNMI — especially our children.
STEVE WOODRUFF
Vice-Chair
Democratic Party of the Northern Marianas
