Kayleigh McEnany Has Something To Say To Biden About Schools Reopening
Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has a bone to pick with President Joe Biden, regarding the urgency to get children back to school amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The president previously promised to reopen most schools in his first 100 days in office, but things aren't exactly going according to plan with clashes from across the aisle and delays in vaccination rollouts.
Previously, Biden proposed a $1.9 trillion COVID aid plan, which would allocate $130 billion in funds to schools grades K-12 to help implement safe conditions for children to attend classes, per the Wall Street Journal. However, 10 Republican senators are fighting the bill, claiming a $20 billion plan will suffice.
"Science is not the obstacle. Federal money is not the obstacle. The obstacle is a lack of willpower," Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said in a floor speech on Feb. 3, 2021. "Not among students. Not among parents. Just among the rich, powerful unions that donate huge sums to Democrats and get a stranglehold over education in many communities."
Defending Biden's relief plan, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the funds were necessary to "ensure that teachers are safe, that kids are safe, that there is necessary PPE, that there is ventilation in the school, that there is the environment that allows for children to return safely."
However, Donald Trump's former press secretary seems to disagree with the extra careful approach to reopening schools. Keep scrolling to see what McEnany said about the Biden administration.
Kayleigh McEnany is adamant about reopening schools ASAP
Despite the Biden administration's concerns to not rush the reopening of public schools in order to ensure children's (and teachers') safety with no expenses spared, former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany thinks it's more important to get kids back in classrooms as soon as possible. "There is no excuse for continued school closures! The science has shown since last summer that schools can safely reopen," she tweeted on Feb. 4, 2021. "Biden should do what is best for America's children by making an unambiguous call to REOPEN!"
McEnany's remarks were met with criticism from opposers. One person replied, "Ya think we should maybe vaccinate teachers first?" Another added, "No excuse besides, you know, the pandemic and the chance teachers could die," with a third writing, "They're working on a plan to open safely and making it a priority-unlike the former administration who wallowed in the chaos of closed schools."
However, this isn't the first time McEnany has spoken out about schools reopening. In July 2020, she said that "science should not stand in the way" of going back to school, since the mental health implications may be harder on children at home, per NBC News. "It's very damaging to our children," she said at the time. "There's a lack of reporting of abuse, there's mental depressions that are not addressed, suicidal ideations that are not addressed when students are not in school. Our schools are extremely important, they're essential, and they must reopen."
McEnany isn't the only one pushing to reopen schools
As Democrats work to pass legislation that would allow a safe return to public schools, those in the system are getting antsy about speeding up the process. In fact, San Francisco mayor London Breed, who previously implemented a strict COVID-19 lockdown, is suing the school district for not having a plan to get kids back to school, stating that at-home learning is turning her pupils into "Zoom-bies," per CNN. With almost a full year without typical classroom education, Breed says learning from home has been damaging to underprivileged communities, adding to the wealth inequality in the U.S.
Chicago is also facing a similar divide as the school board is at odds with the teachers' union. Educators are adamant about waiting until they are fully vaccinated and have more access to safety measures before returning to the classroom, but parents are reportedly pushing to get their kids off of online learning ASAP. "We need our kids back in school. We need our parents to have that option," Mayor Lori Lightfoot said, per CNN. "It cannot be so that a public school system denies parents that right."
Nevertheless, some states are acting on the teachers' concerns, like Ohio and Maryland, who are upping vaccination rollout for teachers in order to reopen schools by early spring 2021. According to the New York Times, about half of states are putting the concerns of teachers first, while others are pushing for reopenings at all costs.