Trump donates three-month salary to Department of Education
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President Donald Trump is donating his second-quarter salary to the Department of Education.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says Trump chose to give the department $100,000. His first-quarter salary donation went to the Department of Interior.
"It's that time again, as many of you have probably noticed, for us to announce where the president will be donating his quarterly salary," Sanders said Wednesday during the daily White House press briefing. "This quarter the president will be donating his salary to the Department of Education."
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Education Secretary Betsy DeVos says the donation is being used to pay for a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) camp sponsored by the department.
As a candidate, Trump had promised not to take a salary if elected. But by law he must be paid, so he is donating the money. Taxpayers can write off such donations, potentially lowering their income taxes.
DeVos says she is grateful for the donation.
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"The president is committed to our nation’s students, and to reforming education in America so that every child, no matter their ZIP code, has access to a high-quality education," she said after receiving the check from Sanders during the briefing.
The Trump administration has also proposed a 13 percent cut to the Education Department's budget, slashing it by $9.2 billion.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.