WASHINGTON — On Thursday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order instructing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin the process of dismantling the Department of Education.
“It may sound odd, right? Department of Education. We’re planning to eliminate it,” Trump remarked during a speech in the East Room of the White House, surrounded by children sitting at school desks. Before signing the executive order, he asked the children, “Should I do this?”
In introducing McMahon, Trump expressed the hope that “she will be our last secretary of education.” He assured her, “I’ll find something else for you, Linda.”
To fully disband the department, Congressional approval would be necessary. Trump stated that he anticipated Democrats would support legislation aimed at this goal.
“I hope they’re going to vote for it,” Trump said referring to congressional Democrats, “because ultimately it may come before them.”
Following the signing, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, announced via X that he would “submit legislation” to expedite Trump’s objective of shutting down the Department of Education “as soon as possible.”
The Department of Education was established by Congress in 1979 during the presidency of Jimmy Carter. Any attempt to abolish the department would likely encounter significant resistance from Democrats in the Republican-controlled Senate, where 60 votes are necessary to overcome a filibuster and advance legislation to a final vote.
Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., the top Democrat on the House Education Committee, condemned the executive order as “reckless,” claiming it would jeopardize “low-income students, students of color, students with disabilities, and rural students.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt informed reporters on Thursday morning that the department would not be entirely dissolved under the executive order. She noted that its “critical functions” would remain, including enforcing civil rights laws and overseeing student loans and Pell grants.
“The Department of Education will be much smaller than it is today,” Leavitt explained, adding that the order tasks McMahon “to significantly reduce the agency. So, when it comes to student loans and Pell grants, those will continue to be managed by the Department of Education.”
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According to a senior administration official speaking to NBC News on Wednesday, the executive order would not disrupt department initiatives targeted at supporting students with disabilities or Title I funding, which assists school districts with a high percentage of low-income students.
The text of the executive order was not released immediately after the White House signing ceremony, which included several Republican state attorneys general and governors, with Trump specifically acknowledging Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton among others.
Polls regarding the elimination of the Department of Education reveal that the proposal is largely unpopular, chiefly due to significant opposition from Democrats and independents. A Quinnipiac survey conducted from March 6-10 found that 60% of registered voters were against the idea, with only 33% in favor. Among Democrats, merely 1% supported the initiative, while 98% opposed it. The survey carried a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
During her Senate confirmation hearing last month, McMahon recognized the necessity of collaborating with Congress to shut down the department.
“Certainly President Trump is aware that we’ll be engaging with Congress,” she stated in response to Cassidy’s inquiry. “We want to approach this properly. We aim to present a plan that our senators and Congress can support, ensuring the Department of Education operates more effectively, but it does require congressional action.”
With Trump’s executive order, however, it appears the administration is somewhat circumventing lawmakers. McMahon mentioned on SiriusXM’s “The David Webb Show” on Tuesday that as they “wind down” her department, officials seek to provide states with effective strategies and necessary tools.
In her rationale for dismantling the department, McMahon remarked, “It’s crucial to recognize what the Department of Education does not do. The Department of Education doesn’t educate students. It doesn’t hire teachers. It doesn’t set curriculum. It doesn’t appoint school boards or superintendents. Its primary role is to facilitate funding so that states can manage their own educational programs. Innovation and creativity must originate at the state level.”
McMahon and the administration have already initiated actions in recent weeks to reduce the department by nearly half its workforce.
NBC News recently reported that state officials and lawmakers are unprepared to assume complete responsibility for education policy, and Trump’s recent order is likely to face additional legal challenges.
Labor and civil rights organizations expressed their opposition to the administration’s actions on Wednesday. National Education Association President Becky Pringle stated that the administration’s steps “will negatively impact all students, resulting in larger class sizes, reductions in job training programs, increased expenses for higher education, removal of special education services for students with disabilities, and erosion of student civil rights protections.”
NAACP President Derrick Johnson labeled the executive order as “unconstitutional,” asserting that “the rule of law doesn’t appear to matter” to Trump.
“Only Congress holds the power to establish or dissolve an executive agency,” Johnson argued. “Trump isn’t merely trying to shut down an agency; he is intentionally dismantling the fundamental functions of our democracy, piece by piece. This marks a dark day for the millions of American children who rely on federal funding for a quality education, including those from low-income and rural backgrounds whose parents voted for Trump.”
