TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump stands in the presidential box as he tours the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, on March 17, 2025. Trump was appointed chairman of the Kennedy Center on February 12, 2025, as a new board of trustees loyal to the US president brought his aggressive rightwing, anti-"woke" stamp to Washington's premier arts venue. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday instructing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin dismantling the U.S. Department of Education. The move, which appears to bypass congressional approval, signals the administration’s aggressive push to reduce federal oversight of education.
At a White House signing ceremony, Trump reiterated his campaign promise to “send education back to the states.” He suggested that Congress may ultimately be asked to shutter the department entirely, arguing that despite a budget increase in recent years, national test scores have not improved.
“My administration will take all lawful steps to shut down the department. We’re going to shut it down and shut it down as quickly as possible. It’s doing us no good,” Trump said. McMahon, seated in the front row, acknowledged the statement with a smile. The ceremony took place in the East Room, where Trump was flanked by state flags and a group of schoolchildren seated at small desks.
The Department of Education’s budget primarily funds federal grant and loan programs, including the $18.4 billion Title I program for high-poverty K-12 schools and the $15.5 billion Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) program. Additionally, it administers the $1.6 trillion federal student loan program. The White House stated that these programs would remain unaffected by the executive order, though it remains unclear what budgetary cuts the administration can achieve without impacting such initiatives.
Over the past year, the administration has already worked to reduce the department’s influence, laying off nearly half of its workforce and canceling numerous grants and contracts. This latest move aligns with the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for reshaping the federal government, which envisions the Department of Education as a statistics-gathering entity rather than a regulatory body.
The effort to abolish the department is not new. Since the 1980s, Republican lawmakers have periodically called for its closure, but the idea has gained momentum in recent years among pro-Trump activists. On Friday, Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) introduced a one-sentence bill to formally dissolve the department by the end of 2026. Previous attempts to pass such legislation have failed in Congress.
Democrats swiftly condemned Trump’s executive order, warning that dismantling the department could have dire consequences for millions of students and educators. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a statement criticizing the move as harmful to public schools, teachers, and low-income families.
“Shutting down the Department of Education will harm millions of children in our nation’s public schools, their families, and hardworking teachers. Class sizes will soar, educators will be fired, special education programs will be cut, and college will get even more expensive,” Jeffries said.
While Trump’s executive order signals his administration’s intent to curtail the department’s influence, fully dissolving the agency would require congressional approval.
