Trump to order a plan to shut down the US Education Department
[March 20, 2025]
By COLLIN BINKLEY and CHRIS MEGERIAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive
order Thursday calling for the shutdown of the U.S. Education
Department, according to a White House official, advancing a campaign
promise to eliminate an agency that's been a longtime target of
conservatives.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity before an announcement.
Trump has derided the Department of Education as wasteful and polluted
by liberal ideology. However, finalizing its dismantling is likely
impossible without an act of Congress, which created the department in
1979.
A White House fact sheet said the order would direct Secretary Linda
McMahon “to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure (of) the
Department of Education and return education authority to the States,
while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of
services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”
The Trump administration has already been gutting the agency. Its
workforce is being slashed in half and there have been deep cuts to the
Office for Civil Rights and the Institute of Education Sciences, which
gathers data on the nation’s academic progress.
Advocates for public schools said eliminating the department would leave
children behind in an American education system that is fundamentally
unequal.
“This isn’t fixing education. It’s making sure millions of children
never get a fair shot. And we’re not about to let that happen without a
fight,” the National Parents Union said in a statement.
The White House has not spelled out formally which department functions
could be handed off to other departments, or eliminated altogether. At
her confirmation hearing, McMahon said she would preserve core
initiatives, including Title I money for low-income schools and Pell
grants for low-income college students. The goal of the administration,
she said, would be "a better functioning Department of Education.”
The department sends billions of dollars a year to schools and oversees
$1.6 trillion in federal student loans.
Currently, much of the agency’s work revolves around managing money —
both its extensive student loan portfolio and a range of aid programs
for colleges and school districts, from school meals to support for
homeless students. The agency also plays a significant role in
overseeing civil rights enforcement.
Federal funding makes up a relatively small portion of public school
budgets — roughly 14%. The money often supports supplemental programs
for vulnerable students, such as the McKinney-Vento program for homeless
students or Title I for low-income schools.
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Protestors gather during a demonstration at the headquarters of the
Department of Education, Friday, March 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP
Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Colleges and universities are more reliant on money from Washington,
through research grants along with federal financial aid that helps
students pay their tuition.
Republicans have talked about closing the Education Department for
decades, saying it wastes taxpayer money and inserts the federal
government into decisions that should fall to states and schools.
The idea has gained popularity recently as conservative parents’
groups demand more authority over their children’s schooling.
In his platform, Trump promised to close the department “and send it
back to the states, where it belongs.” Trump has cast the department
as a hotbed of “radicals, zealots and Marxists” who overextend their
reach through guidance and regulation.
At the same time, Trump has leaned on the Education Department to
promote elements of his agenda. He has used investigative powers of
the Office for Civil Rights and the threat of withdrawing federal
education funding to target schools and colleges that run afoul of
his orders on transgender athletes participating in women's sports,
pro-Palestinian activism and diversity programs.
Even some of Trump’s allies have questioned his power to close the
agency without action from Congress, and there are doubts about its
political popularity. The House considered an amendment to close the
agency in 2023, but 60 Republicans joined Democrats in opposing it.
During Trump’s first term, former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos
sought to dramatically reduce the agency’s budget and asked Congress
to bundle all K-12 funding into block grants that give states more
flexibility in how they spend federal money. It was rejected, with
pushback from some Republicans.
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