ORLANDO, Fla. – U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody told News 6 Thursday that she viewed the proposed White House cuts to the Department of Education as more akin to a “restructuring” of funds.
“What they’re trying to do is restructure a lot of funding,” Moody said. “They’re putting a lot of it into other agencies. Some of it’s going to other departments, like the Department of Labor.”
News 6 spoke to Moody after she addressed families gathered for a school resource fair held at Valencia College in Orlando.
Earlier this year, the White House published its Fiscal Year 2027 budget blueprint -- a wishlist of sorts containing the items the Trump administration would like to see funded or cut.
The budget proposes cutting $2.3 billion from the Department of Education.
Under the blueprint’s section that pertains to the department, the first line reflects the administration’s overall approach when it comes to the agency.
“The Budget puts the Department of Education (ED), which has failed the Nation’s children, teachers, and families, on a path to elimination,” the blueprint states.
News 6’s Mike Valente asked Moody whether she shares the White House’s vision to eliminate the department.
“My vision is to take our abysmal test scores in reading and math and we do like we did it Florida, where we go from a 60% graduation rate to an over 92 % graduation rate in a short amount of time,” Moody said. “And you only do that by examining your structure, where your resources are going, and making sure you’re giving meaningful opportunity to kids. And I support thinking outside the box and not doing the same thing that we’ve done decade after decade and failing our kids across this country.”
Valente then pressed Moody on whether she believes the Department of Education should still have some kind of role in education.
“Well, currently, right now, (Education Secretary Linda McMahon) is embracing that department and fully working with other agencies to see how can we serve the kids, how can we improve our scores,” Moody said. “Does that mean we transfer some of those funding opportunities to other agencies?”
Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Moody to her seat in 2025 to replace Sen. Marco Rubio, who assumed the position of Secretary of State.
Moody is looking to retain her seat. The first step to doing so comes during the Republican primary on Tuesday.