Department of Education could be next on Trump's chopping block

President Trump is eyeing an executive order to dismantle the Education Department, which has placed dozens of staffers on leave in what their union says is a move to encourage resignations.
Eliminating the department completely would take an act of Congress, but Trump is considering actions to gut its major functions, according to multiple reports this week. Trump has long sought to wipe the department from the federal government, and, responding to one of those reports, Elon Musk said Trump "will succeed" where other conservatives have failed.
“The whole thing is absurd,” Jon Valant, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institute, said of the Education staffers placed on leave.
While it was pinned to Trump's antidiversity efforts, the push to forced leave “feels much more connected to” reports that Trump is looking at executive actions to weaken the department, Valant said.
“I think they are trying to squeeze the department in any way they can, to try to encourage people to leave, force people to leave, do whatever they can to shrink, destabilize and kneecap the department, knowing full well that they can't just outright eliminate it or most of its major programs and offices without the cooperation of Congress,” he added.
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Trump is looking at executive actions to cripple the Education Department, such as taking away programs not explicitly written into law, moving functions to different departments and calling for Congress to pass a law completely abolishing the federal agency.
Multiple people familiar with the conversations told the outlet the specifics and timing are still up for debate, and the president is facing pressure from others to wait on any such orders until after the confirmation hearing for Trump’s pick for Education secretary, which has not been scheduled yet.
“I think this is going to change the conversation in Linda McMahon's confirmation hearings," Valant said. "Regardless, we were going to see a good amount of questioning around the future of the department. I think that looks now like it's probably going to be the dominant part of that conversation."
Trump made clear in the Oval Office on Tuesday that he wants "Linda to put herself out of a job."
“I told Linda, 'Linda, I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job,'" Trump said, adding he would like to end the department through executive order.
"So we're ranked No. 40 out of 40 schools, right? We're ranked No. 1 in cost per pupil, so we spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, and we're ranked at the bottom of the list. We're ranked very badly. And what I want to do is let the states run schools," the president added.
While Trump had promised to dismantle the department in his first administration, he made little effort to keep that pledge at the time.
The tone has shifted dramatically in his second term, with Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency that is currently gutting the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and going through other departments, confident in Trump’s efforts.
“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 wrote on social media in response to a report from The Washington Post about Trump’s potential executive actions and DOGE going through data from the federal agency.
“Not this time. President @realDonaldTrump will succeed,” he added.
Eliminating the department would require legislative action, as some of the programs are written into law, but there are significant ways the president could weaken it, such as abolishing others, cutting down personnel, investigating programs, shifting funding or moving programs to other federal departments.
“He can't really do a whole lot. You can't eliminate Title I. He can't eliminate the [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act]. There are lots of other things that he can't just stop,” said Neil McCluskey, director for the Center for Educational Freedom at Cato Institute.
“I think that it's probably within his executive power: not to eliminate the programs, but to examine them and see how they work and whether or not they're working properly. And I imagine that will be part of the executive order,” McCluskey added.
When asked about potential executive action, a White House official told The Hill that Trump "plans to fulfill a campaign promise by revaluating the future of the Department of Education.”
On Friday, the department sent letters to dozens of staffers putting them on administrative leave due to executive action Trump signed to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs from the federal government.
The union for the staffers said many of the targeted employees had no direct involvement in DEI but attended a DEI program in 2019 during Trump’s first term in office that was encouraged by his then-secretary of Education.
“President Trump was elected to bring about unprecedented reform to the federal civil service to ensure it is merit-based and efficient at serving the interests of the American people. At the Department of Education, we are evaluating staffing in line with the commitment to prioritizing meaningful learning ahead of divisive ideology in schools and putting student outcomes above special interests,” Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications Madi Biedermann said when asked for comment about the potential executive actions by the president and placing staff on administrative leave.
Eliminating the department altogether is an idea that certainly does have its defenders on Capitol Hill.
“To my friends who are upset, I would say with respect, call somebody who cares. You better get used to this. It’s USAID today, it’s going to be the Department of Education tomorrow,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said on Fox News this week.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) reintroduced a bill this month in the House to eliminate the department. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) introduced a bill with the same goal in the Senate back in November.
But such a measure would have to not only clear the House, where Republicans have a razor-thin majority, but also secure 60 votes in the Senate to beat a filibuster. And no Democrat in the 53-47 upper chamber has backed the idea.
McCluskey said even more “palatable” arguments such as not eliminating department functions but just moving them elsewhere would “still be a tough haul, because you'd have to get Democrats.”
If none of Trump’s reforms get congressional approval, advocates are concerned about the political pingpong that could develop with the agency.
Schools have already experienced political whiplash with Title IX regulations, having to change how they handle sexual assault cases and discrimination protections for LGBTQ students back and forth between Trump and former President Biden.
“What worries me here is that we're sort of headed down a path where we're going to have this pendulum swing in a lot of different parts of what the federal government does when it comes to education, and I don't think that serves anyone well, and I also don't think anyone really wants that," Valant said.
“I don't think there's much appetite for having these major, major changes to the federal role in education every time we move from a Republican to a Democratic administration and back,” he added.
-
Trump has a constitutional obligation to eliminate the Department of Education
The argument against the constitutionality of the Department of Education is remarkably simple.The Hill - 1h -
Cassidy questions McMahon on Trump plans to downsize Department of Education
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., questioned Linda McMahon about President Trump's plans to potentially downsize or eliminate the Department of Education. McMahon assured Cassidy any major changes to the ...NBC News - 6d -
Linda McMahon grilled on Trump's plans for the Education Department at Senate confirmation hearing
Senators pressed Linda McMahon on what it would look like if the Department of Education were dismantled and how she would enforce civil rights laws during her confirmation hearing Thursday to be ...NBC News - 6d -
Education nominee McMahon grilled amid Trump's vow to kill department
WWE co-founder Linda McMahon was in the hot seat on Capitol Hill as she faced questions over her education secretary nomination.ABC News - 5d -
President Trump wants to dismantle the Department of Education. Here's what would be impacted.
President Trump wants his pick to lead the Department of Education, Linda McMahon, to dismantle the agency. McMahon acknowledged at her confirmation hearing that abolishing the department would ...CBS News - 5d -
Trump rolls back CFPB, USAID and Department of Education: Where things stand
President Trump supercharged his overhaul of government agencies this week that included a fresh round of a widespread firings. Trump signed an order this week indicating agency heads initiate ...The Hill - 4d -
What dismantling the Department of Education could mean for colleges, student loans and college access
Efforts by the Trump administration to dismantle the Education Department are underway. Here's what it could mean for students.CNBC - 5d -
Inside DOGE's takeover of the Education Department
Members of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency team have obtained “administrator” email accounts at the Department of Education.NBC News - Feb. 8 -
Black educators warn of what is lost if Education Department is shuttered
Black educators are sounding the alarm as President Trump ramps up talk of eliminating the Department of Education. Trump, who has long called for the Education Department to be shut down, said in ...The Hill - Feb. 10 -
Red state education officials eager for end of Department of Education
Republican states are embracing the idea of a future with no federal Department of Education, preparing plans for its Trump-promised demise and voicing confidence their own agencies can pick up the ...The Hill - Feb. 12
More from The Hill
-
Is the Trump administration fighting the wrong economic battle?
The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) poses a much bigger challenge for policymakers. Generative AI appears to truly upend prior assumptions regarding the stability of high-skill ...The Hill - 14m -
Senators call for stronger ethics enforcement at Federal Reserve
Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) urged the Federal Reserve chair to hammer down on "improper" trade violations in a Friday letter, expressing concerns about what they ...The Hill - 16m -
Trump to meet with Macron, Starmer next week
President Trump is set to meet next week with two key European leaders amid tensions over Trump's approach to negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine. National security adviser Mike Waltz ...The Hill - 22m -
Republicans set aside doubts about Trump's Labor pick
Republicans appeared to give their blessing to Trump’s pick for Labor Secretary, former Rep. Lori Chavez-Deremer (R-Ore.), during her confirmation hearing Wednesday despite her past pro-labor ...The Hill - 22m -
Live updates: Trump throws wrench in Senate budget plans, calls Zelensky 'dictator'
President Trump is spending much of Wednesday in Florida, but is still making waves in Washington. Ahead of attending a Saudi investment conference in Miami, the president has traded barbs with ...The Hill - 25m
More in Politics
-
Is the Trump administration fighting the wrong economic battle?
The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) poses a much bigger challenge for policymakers. Generative AI appears to truly upend prior assumptions regarding the stability of high-skill ...The Hill - 14m -
Senators call for stronger ethics enforcement at Federal Reserve
Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) urged the Federal Reserve chair to hammer down on "improper" trade violations in a Friday letter, expressing concerns about what they ...The Hill - 16m -
Trump to meet with Macron, Starmer next week
President Trump is set to meet next week with two key European leaders amid tensions over Trump's approach to negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine. National security adviser Mike Waltz ...The Hill - 22m -
Republicans set aside doubts about Trump's Labor pick
Republicans appeared to give their blessing to Trump’s pick for Labor Secretary, former Rep. Lori Chavez-Deremer (R-Ore.), during her confirmation hearing Wednesday despite her past pro-labor ...The Hill - 22m -
Live updates: Trump throws wrench in Senate budget plans, calls Zelensky 'dictator'
President Trump is spending much of Wednesday in Florida, but is still making waves in Washington. Ahead of attending a Saudi investment conference in Miami, the president has traded barbs with ...The Hill - 25m