The Trump administration has made no secret of the fact that it plans to cut various agencies and programs — and its most recent casualty, CNN reports, is Michelle Obama’s Let Girls Learn initiative.
Founded in 2015 by Michelle and Barack Obama, the program “helps adolescent girls attain a quality education and enables them to reach their full potential.” Contributing agencies included the Peace Corps, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the State Department, among others. As of the end of last year, it boasted $1 billion in financial backing.
Per CNN:
While aspects of the initiative’s programming will continue, employees have been told to stop using the “Let Girls Learn” name and were told that, as a program unto itself, “Let Girls Learn” was ending.
“Moving forward, we will not continue to use the ‘Let Girls Learn’ brand or maintain a stand-alone program,” read an email sent to Peace Corps employees this week by the agency’s acting director Sheila Crowley.
The Cut will update this post as new information becomes available on what this iteration of the initiative will look like.
Update, 5/2/17, 9:35 a.m.: “There have been no changes to the program,” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told CNN on Monday evening. “The Administration supports policies and programs to empower adolescent girls, including efforts to educate them through the completion of secondary school. We are committed to empowering women and girls around the world and are continuing to examine the best ways to do so.”
