Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will now be led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, who claimed on his social media platform X on Monday night that Trump “will succeed” in the GOP’s plan to completely dismantle the Department of Education.
In the interim, Trump might take some steps to limit the Department of Education’s authority, but legislation would be necessary to completely shut it down.
“Reagan campaigned on ending the federal Dept of Education, which was created by Carter in 1979, but it was bigger when Reagan left office than when he started!” Musk said.
“Not this time. President @realDonaldTrump will succeed,” he continued.
In light of Trump’s executive order on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and the Office of Personnel Management’s directives for agencies to purge those connected to DEI, DOGE employees are reportedly questioning departmental data as the agency places dozens of employees on administrative leave.
The employees’ union claims the leaves are predicated on people who attended a DEI course under Trump’s first term, which was promoted by his then-secretary of the department.
According to reports from The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post on Monday, Trump is considering issuing an executive order to weaken the department.
However, further action is probably not going to happen until after the confirmation hearing of Linda McMahon, Trump’s choice for Education secretary, which has not yet been set.
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