President Donald Trump has signed an executive orderdirecting officials to begin dismantling the Department of Education, a promise he made on the 2024 campaign trail.
“We’re going to shut it down as quickly as possible,” President Trump said after signing the order on March 20.
Donald Trump has long called for the department to be axed, a cherished goal of some conservatives, but completely shuttering it would require approval by Congress – which is unlikely.
The move is already facing legal challenges from those seeking to block the agency’s closure as well as the sweeping cuts to its staff announced last week.
Donald Trump said “the US spends more money on education by far than any other country” yet students “rank near the bottom of the list in terms of success”.
The White House stated that his administration would move to cut parts of the department that remain within legal boundaries.
At the ceremony, President Trump praised Linda McMahon, whom he appointed to lead the department, and expressed his hope that she would be the last secretary of education.He said he would find “something else” for her to do within the administration.
After the president signed the order, Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy announced plans to bring legislationaimed at closing the department.
But Republicans hold a slim 53-47 majority in the Senate, and closing a federal department would require 60 votes, making such a goal a longshot.
Even if the department is not formally closed, the Trump administration could decimate its funding and staff as it has done with the USAID, which subsequently stopped many of its programmes and humanitarian work.
The text of the executive order does not include specifics on what actions the administration will take and which programs might be axed.
It orders Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure” of the department and give authority of such matters to state and local governments while “ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely”.
Established in 1979, the education department oversees funding for public schools, administers student loans and runs programs that help low-income students.
Donald Trump has accused it of indoctrinating young people with racial, sexual, and political material.
A common misconception is that the department operates US schools and sets curricula – but that is primarily done by states and local districts.
A relatively small percentage of funding for primary and secondary schools – about 13% – comes from federal funds. The majority is made up from states and local groups.
The agency also plays a prominent role in administering and overseeing the federal student loans used by millions of Americans to pay for higher education.
Soon after she was sworn in, Linda McMahon sent the department’s 4,400 employees a memo titled “Our Department’s Final Mission”.
Donald Trump and fellow Republicans have accused the department of promoting a “woke” political ideology, and say the department is pushing liberal views about gender and race.
