Dear Commons Community,

Donald Trump said yesterday that to cut federal spending, he would cut the Department of Education as well as several other agencies if elected president.

Asked on “Fox News Sunday” how he would cut spending, Trump named the Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency as potential targets.

“No, I’m not cutting services, but I’m cutting spending. But I may cut the Department of Education. I believe the Common Core is a very bad thing. I believe that we should be — you know, educating our children from Iowa, from New Hampshire, from South Carolina, from California, from New York. I think that it should be local education,” Trump said.

“So the Department of Education is one,” he continued. “Environmental Protection, what they do is a disgrace. Every week they come out with new regulations.”

Asked by host Chris Wallace who would protect the environment in the absence of the EPA, Trump maintained that “we’ll be fine with the environment.”

“We can leave a little bit, but you can’t destroy businesses,” he added.

Trump’s comments on the Common core are clever and designed to appeal to people across the political spectrum but especially to conservative Republicans who see the Common Core as federal overreach into education.  The Common Core will surely be an issue in the primaries and in the general election regardless who the nominees are.

Tony