Another campaign promise is about to be kept. President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order as to begin the process of dismantling the Department of Education, according to reports. The directive is expected to instruct Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take all legally viable steps to close the agency.
This move marks the culmination of a long-standing conservative effort to abolish the department, writes The Wall Street Journal.
The Trump administration has already taken a series of steps to weaken the agency. It laid off probationary employees and offered others buyouts. It paused some of its civil-rights enforcement work and canceled many grants and contracts related to research and teacher quality.
The administration has also used the agency’s civil-rights arm to attempt to root out antisemitism on university campuses, accommodations for transgender students, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Conservatives have been targeting the Education Department since it was established in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter and Congress. Their ire reached a fever pitch during the Biden administration over student-loan forgiveness, the bungled financial-aid form rollout and the expansion of antidiscrimination rules to transgender students. Trump promised on the campaign trail to scrap the department.
With around 4,500 employees as of last year, the department is the smallest cabinet-level agency. Polls show most Americans are skeptical of eliminating the department, and Democrats have rallied in opposition to the idea.
NPR recently noted that “The average test scores for U.S. 13-year-olds have dipped in reading and dropped sharply in math since 2020, according to new data from National Assessment of Educational Progress.
The average scores, from tests given last fall, declined 4 points in reading and 9 points in math, compared with tests given in the 2019-2020 school year, and are the lowest in decades. The declines in reading were more pronounced for lower performing students, but dropped across all percentiles.
The math scores were even more disappointing. On a scale of 500 points, the declines ranged from 6 to 8 points for middle and high performing students, to 12 to 14 points for low performing students.“
In a message to department staff following her Senate confirmation, McMahon reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to shifting education policy control to the states, calling it a “historic final mission.” However, fully dismantling the department would require congressional approval—a significant challenge given Senate filibuster rules and the legal frameworks supporting key federal education programs.
While the executive order represents a major push to abolish the department, its success depends on navigating substantial legal and legislative obstacles and will likely need Congress to formally abolish it.
