Trump Orders Dismantling of Education Department, Faces Legal Challenges
President Donald Trump has directed his administration to dismantle the Department of Education, fulfilling a major campaign promise, although the White House has clarified that the agency cannot and will not be entirely dissolved.
Accompanied by a group of students at school desks, Trump signed the long-anticipated executive order during a ceremony in the White House’s East Room. The event was attended by several Republican governors and state education commissioners.
Trump reiterated his desire to eliminate the department "once and for all," stating, "We’re going to eliminate it, and everybody knows it’s right."
The president instructed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take "all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States," according to a White House summary of the order, which had been under development for several weeks.
The order’s immediate impact remains uncertain, as only Congress has the authority to eliminate a federal agency. Additionally, the federal government does not determine school curriculum, which has traditionally been the responsibility of states and local school districts.
Trump expressed optimism that Democrats would support the initiative, stating, "The Democrats know it’s right, and I hope they’re going to be voting for it because ultimately it may come before them."
Prior to the ceremony, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt informed reporters that the Education Department, established by Congress in 1979 during the Carter administration, would not be abolished under Trump’s order but would become "much smaller than it is today."
The order simultaneously calls for the department to close and maintain an "uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely." Leavitt stated that federal Title I funding, funding for students with disabilities, Pell Grants, and student loans would continue to be administered by the department.
Programs and activities receiving "any remaining Department of Education funds" will not be permitted to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, or "gender ideology," according to the White House.
Trump’s directive follows the Education Department’s issuance of over 1,300 termination notices to employees last week as part of large-scale "reductions in force" across the federal government, led by the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, under the guidance of billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.
The Trump administration has reduced the department’s workforce by half, from over 4,000 employees to approximately 2,000, through cuts and voluntary buyouts since the start of the president’s second term.
Republicans have long argued that the federal government has too much influence over local and state education policy. Trump told reporters last month that he hoped McMahon would put herself "out of a job."
Trump and other Republicans have frequently relied on data from the Education Department’s research arm, a branch that the administration has reduced to a skeleton staff. This has raised concerns about how officials will track school progress following Trump’s changes to the department.
Trump’s order sets up a new test for the limits of presidential authority after a federal district judge in Maryland blocked the administration’s efforts to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Congressional Democrats have criticized Trump’s move as blatantly illegal, and teachers unions have vowed to sue to prevent the administration from winding down the department.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, responded to Trump’s plan by stating, "See you in court."
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a top funding appropriator, said that Trump was taking a "wrecking ball" to the agency despite knowing "perfectly well he can’t abolish the Department of Education without Congress." Murray added, "But he understands that if you fire all the staff and smash it to pieces, you might get a similar, devastating result."
Advocates for student loan borrowers have expressed similar concerns. Aaron Ament, president of the National Student Legal Defense Network, stated, "Let’s be clear: there’s no Executive Order the President can sign to legally eliminate the Department of Education. Linda McMahon acknowledged that herself. The real effect of this decree will just be even more hardship and confusion for students and families."
The future of the Department of Education remains uncertain, with legal challenges and congressional opposition expected to play a significant role in determining the outcome of Trump’s directive. The potential impact on students, educators, and the overall education system is also a major concern.
