President Donald Trump has issued an executive order Thursday afternoon directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin preparations for shuttering the Department of Education.
The directive, which has reportedly been in development since before Trump’s January inauguration, acknowledges the president lacks authority to directly abolish a cabinet department established by federal law.
Instead, it instructs McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Education Department” based on “the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law,” according to draft language reported by The Wall Street Journal.
“The experiment of controlling American education through Federal programs and dollars—and the unaccountable bureaucrats those programs and dollars support — has failed our children, our teachers, and our families,” Trump’s order reportedly states.
McMahon, who was confirmed by the Senate on Monday, signaled the administration’s intentions in a letter to department employees that same evening.
“My vision is aligned with the President’s: to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children,” she wrote.
Fully unwinding the Department of Education would require congressional action with a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority in the Senate, where Republicans currently hold only 53 seats.
The Department’s $268 billion annual budget funds numerous popular programs that would likely continue regardless of the department’s fate.
The largest portion—$160 billion—funds the Office of Federal Student Aid, which administers Pell Grants used by more than one-third of U.S. undergraduate students and federal student loans utilized by approximately 53 percent of degree recipients.
Other major departmental functions include Title I funding for low-income schools ($18.4 billion) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) supporting special education ($14.2 billion). Together, federal education funding represents about 14% of public school budgets nationwide, though this varies significantly by state—from 7.3% in New York to 23.2% in Mississippi.
Most Republican proposals to “abolish” the department involve redistributing some its functions to other federal agencies rather than eliminating them entirely. During Trump’s first term, then-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos proposed reassigning many departmental responsibilities to agencies like Commerce and Labor.
McMahon recently told department employees that while “things are uncertain,” they “should be enthusiastic about any change that will benefit students.” She specifically referenced Trump’s recent executive orders promoting school choice and eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from schools.