Trump reverses Education Secretary’s proposal to cut Special Olympics funds 3 dead after N.H. hotel standoff

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he was backing off his budget request to eliminate $17 million in funding for the Special Olympics, reversing course on a proposal that was unlikely to be approved by Congress after days of bipartisan criticism.

Speaking prior to leaving for a rally in Michigan, Trump said he had authorized funding for the organization. “I have overridden my people. We’re funding the Special Olympics.”

Trump’s announcement came after Education Secretary Betsy DeVos spent days defending the proposal, which drew widespread condemnation from lawmakers, as well as advocates and celebrities. The president’s reversal reflected a political desire to move away from a plan that was not expected to pass Congress, but also underscored Trump’s comfort with undercutting top officials.

The Trump administration’s education budget proposal called for the elimination of $17.6 million in funding for the Special Olympics, amounting to roughly 10 percent of the group’s overall revenue. Most of its funding comes from individual and corporate contributions and other fundraising efforts.

The Special Olympics is the largest sports organization in the world for people with intellectual disabilities, with over 5 million athletes from 174 countries participating in competitions.

A 15-hour standoff at a New Hampshire hotel ended Thursday with three people dead, including two who had barricaded themselves inside a room and shot repeatedly at police and drug enforcement agents.

A Manchester police officer and DEA agent killed Stephen Marshall, 51, in a shootout Wednesday night as he tried to elude authorities. Meanwhile, a man and a woman holed up in a hotel room and for nine hours, they fired multiple times on law enforcement outside. The standoff ended Thursday morning after law enforcement officers found the pair dead but wouldn’t say how they died.