Oklahoma’s senior U.S. senator spoke to employees and residents at a local nonprofit Wednesday morning.
During his visit to Owasso’s A New Leaf dedicated to people with developmental disabilities and autism, Lankford touched on cuts to education targeted by President Donald Trump. Lankford said funding distributed by DOE for programs like the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, will continue because a legal requirement exists.
IDEA guarantees disabled students free, appropriate public education tailored to their individual needs.
“The Department of Education exists in statute, and IDEA exists in statute,” Lankford said. “The president’s order was very specific on it. Identify what is required by law and we’re going to do that. Identify what is not required by law and we’re not going to do that.”
Still, concerns remain that DOE could be completely shuttered. As Trump signed his executive order at the White House today, he said the effort will begin to close DOE “once and for all.” That would ultimately require congressional approval.
Medicaid
Lankford also spoke about Medicaid, specifically mentioning $30 billion in improper payments made by the program that covers health care expenses for those with low incomes.
“Literally they can’t track it and don’t know. That’s a big number to have, $30 billion,” Lankford said.
The $31.1 billion in improper payments accounts for 5% of the 2024 Medicaid budget and less than half a percent of the federal government’s $6.75 trillion budget.
Along with rooting out fraud, Lankford would like to have work requirements for adults without dependents on Medicaid. He’d also like changes to the provider tax done at the state level for federal dollars.
DOGE
On the topic of the controversial Department of Government Efficiency, Lankford compared DOGE’s slashing of the federal workforce to President Bill Clinton’s federal job cuts. The difference for Lankford is the time frame and deficit.
“In the Clinton administration they did a lot of things by attrition. They reduced positions. It was a much slower process in that transition,” Lankford said. “President Trump sees a couple things. One is we have a $2 trillion overspending this year. That was not true if you go back to the Clinton administration with a much smaller deficit during that time period.”
Lankford also noted that since 2019 federal spending has increased to more than $6 trillion a year. In 2019, federal spending was $4.4 trillion.
DOGE, championed by billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk, has been controversial. Clinton faced no lawsuits because of his downsizing, but Trump is the target of more than 120 legal complaints.
In one of those suits, a Maryland judge ruled the dismantling of USAID, a foreign assistance service, likely violates the U.S. Constitution.
