President Donald Trump has promised to shut down the federal Department of Education in an effort to reduce spending and shrink the government after he said it has been infiltrated by “radicals, zealots and Marxists.”

A plan being considered by the White House would direct the education secretary to dismantle the department as much as legally possible while asking Congress to abolish it completely.

Opponents have said the move undermines public education.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand warned the cuts could cut critical funding for 2.5 million students across the state.

New York lawmakers are preparing to punch back.

Assembly Member Nader Sayegh sits on the Assembly Education Committee and represents Yonkers, which includes one of the state's largest school districts. Sayegh says everything is on the table.

He supports a proposal that would withhold money the state sends to the federal government if the feds cut educational funding for New York.

"What's the recourse for the state?" Sayegh asked. "That impacts cities like Yonkers and elsewhere. It could be, you know, where we would hold funds or tax funds and revenue from going to D.C."

Earlier this week, Trump removed exemptions from his 2018 tariffs on steel, meaning all steel imports will be taxed at a minimum of 25%. He also hiked his aluminum tariffs from the same year from 10% to 25%.

Once again using tariffs as an attempt to draw business back to the U.S. as well as political capital, Trump said the move would hit Canada, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and China the most.

Economics experts warn the move could have devastating affects on the U.S. economy as other countries hike up taxes on American goods, forcing prices to rise.

"This has the potential along with tariff retaliation by Canada, Mexico and other countries to greatly inflate costs to consumers in everything from housing to large screen TVs," Weinstock said.

In a not-so-close race, Democrat Ken Jenkins defeated Republican Christine Sculti in the special election for Westchester County executive.

Jenkins had a 27-point lead with 100% of the votes counted, according to the county Board of Elections.

He will now serve out the remainder of the unexpired term vacated by Rep. George Latimer, who was elected last year to represent New York's 16th Congressional District. That term runs until the end of this year.

Jenkins thanked supporters and offered insight into his plans for the rest of the year.

"My administration is going to be compassionate, sensitive to all people's rights and strive to improve the rights and lives of all our hardworking Westchester people," Jenkins said.

While unlikely, there could be a primary election later this year in June, in the race for a full four-year term starting in 2026.

Despite the defeat, Sculti previously said she plans to run against Jenkins again in November as she seeks to flip the county's top job from blue to red.