In Trump's quest to close the Education Department, Congress and his own agenda may get in the way

[February 05, 2025]  By COLLIN BINKLEY and BIANCA VÁZQUEZ TONESS

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is preparing to gut the U.S. Education Department to the full extent of his power, directing his administration to slash spending while pressuring employees to quit. Yet his promise to close the department is colliding with another reality: Most of its spending — and its very existence — is ordered by Congress.

An executive order in preparation by the White House appears to recognize the limits of the president’s power. The planned order would direct his education chief to start winding down the agency but urge Congress to pass a measure abolishing it, according to sources familiar with the plan.

Trump has yet to sign such an order. But at a White House press conference Tuesday, Trump quipped about the first task for Linda McMahon, his nominee for education secretary.

“I want Linda to put herself out of a job,” Trump said.

Trump campaigned on a pledge to close the department, saying it has been infiltrated by “radicals, zealots and Marxists.” In the nearly five decades since the agency was created, conservatives have made occasional attempts to shut it down, with critics saying it wastes taxpayer money and inserts the federal government into local education decisions.

Trump is expected to give his education chief a deadline to deliver a plan for the agency’s winddown. Yet even some of his allies question how far he can go without Congress. Some of the department's most significant programs are required by federal legislation, including Title I money for low-income schools and federal student loans.

That was a source of frustration during Trump’s first term in office, when his education chief repeatedly sought budget cuts but instead saw Congress increase the agency’s spending each year.

What's more, Trump's quest to shut down the department could be complicated by his own agenda. Already, he has created new work for the department, including plans to promote “patriotic” education and efforts to go after schools that teach controversial lessons on race and gender. The agency also has opened new investigations into colleges, after Trump ordered a crackdown on campus antisemitism.

What Trump can actually do to cut spending could be limited to tiny fractions of the budget, according to one source with knowledge of the plan. It would hardly dent the department’s $79 billion annual budget.

The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the plan publicly.

Getting support from Congress would provide another test of Trump’s sway. Some Republicans have raised doubts about the popularity of closing the department or slashing its programs, which support Republican and Democratic states alike.

The House considered amending a bill to close the agency in 2023, but 60 Republicans joined Democrats in opposing it. Last week Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, against introduced legislation to close the agency. The one-sentence proposal said the Education Department “shall terminate on December 31, 2026.”

Yet there are signs that Trump is determined to deliver his promise.

Dozens of Education Department employees were put on paid leave on Friday in response to an executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the federal government. Most of the workers don’t work in DEI but had taken an optional diversity course promoted by the department, according to a union that represents department staff. Trump’s order called for government DEI officials to be fired to the “maximum extent allowed by law.”

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The White House has also pressured federal workers to quit. Education Department workers were among those who received an offer to leave their jobs by Feb. 6 and receive a buyout worth seven months of salary.

A fresh wave of angst enveloped the agency when a team from Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency showed up at the department’s offices this week. An Education Department spokesperson confirmed a team was on site Monday but did not provide details on the nature of its work. Musk's colleagues have already sought to close the U.S. Agency for International Development and to gain access to sensitive payment systems at the Treasury Department.

Trump’s comments at his press conference raised alarms among schools and states that rely on federal money. Federal funding makes up a small portion of public school budgets — roughly 14% — but it adds targeted support for low-income schools and special education, among other grant programs.

In Minnesota, Democrats in the state assembly warned about the potential impact of Trump’s order on Tuesday. Sen. Mary Kunesh said she was worried the order could disrupt funding and called for more clarity on the plan.

“Imagine if we have billions of dollars frozen at the federal level," Kunesh said at a press conference. "How are we going to make sure they have the curriculum they have to learn?”

Some Republicans in Minnesota's Legislature said there was no reason to panic without full details of the order.

Those details are expected to be sorted out by Trump’s education chief, and the president didn’t immediately say whether he would look to preserve the department’s core work.

One potential model is found in Project 2025, a blueprint for Trump’s second term created by the conservative Heritage Foundation. The proposal calls for many of the department’s biggest programs to be parceled out to other agencies.

Under the Project 2025 plan, Title I funding, the largest source of federal money to public schools, would be moved to the Department of Health and Human Services and given as block grants to states for them to spend as they please, with no strings attached. The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights would shift to the Justice Department.

Trump has sought distance from Project 2025, though he has hired some of the staff behind it, and on some issues there’s considerable overlap with his own platform.

Democrats in Congress were quick to jump on Trump’s plan. Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, called it an “attack on educators, families and students.” He vowed to fight it.

Trump’s plan could complicate the confirmation hearing for McMahon, a billionaire professional wrestling mogul and longtime Trump ally. Some advisers had asked the White House to keep the order quiet to avoid thorny questions, and others are pushing for it to be signed after her confirmation. No date has been set yet for her Senate hearing.

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Associated Press writer Steve Karnowski contributed from Minneapolis.

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