President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Thursday that would begin dismantling the Department of Education, fulfilling a key campaign promise but setting up a protracted battle with Democrats in Congress and their wealthy donors.
The White House has circulated a fact sheet stating the move will “turn over education to families instead of bureaucracies,” according to documents reviewed by multiple news outlets. Trump has repeatedly called the department “a big con job” and claimed it’s been overtaken by “radicals, zealots and Marxists.”
“The dream is we’re going to move the Department of Education. We’re going to move education into the states, so that the states, instead of bureaucrats working in Washington … can run education,” Trump said.
The executive order will direct Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States, while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely,” according reports.
McMahon, confirmed by the Senate on March 3, has fully embraced the mission, issuing a memo the same day outlining her support for the plan.
“The reality of our education system is stark, and the American people have elected President Trump to make significant changes in Washington,” McMahon wrote. “Our job is to respect the will of the American people and the President they elected, who has tasked us with accomplishing the elimination of bureaucratic bloat here at the Department of Education — a momentous final mission — quickly and responsibly.”
The Trump administration has already begun gutting the agency of wasteful spending.
Last week, the department announced nearly half its workforce would be laid off starting March 21. There have been deep cuts to the Office for Civil Rights and the Institute of Education Sciences, which gathers data on the nation’s academic progress.
White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields told Fox News the moves are necessary because “NAEP scores reveal a national crisis — our children are falling behind.”
“Over the past four years, Democrats have allowed millions of illegal minors into the country, straining school resources and diverting focus from American students,” Fields added. “Coupled with the rise of anti-American CRT and DEI indoctrination, this is harming our most vulnerable.”
Despite the executive order, legal and political hurdles remain. While Trump can direct the reorganization of the department, completely eliminating the cabinet-level agency would require congressional approval under Article II of the Constitution. Such a measure would need 60 votes in the Senate, where Republicans currently hold 53 seats.
Some Republican lawmakers have already introduced legislation supporting the president’s goal. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-K.Y., submitted a bill on January 31 that would eliminate the department by December 2026.
“Unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., should not be in charge of our children’s intellectual and moral development,” Massie said. “States and local communities are best positioned to shape curricula that meet the needs of their students.”
The American Federation of Teachers has urged Congress to oppose the executive order, noting that a February NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll found more than 60% of Americans “strongly oppose” eliminating the agency.
“The Department of Education, and the laws it is supposed to execute, has one major purpose: to level the playing field and fill opportunity gaps to help every child in America succeed,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said. “Trying to abolish it — which, by the way, only Congress can do — sends a message that the president doesn’t care about opportunity for all kids.”
The Department of Education, established in 1980, received a budget of $79.1 billion in fiscal year 2024. Critics point to declining test scores as evidence of the department’s failure. The 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress revealed stagnant math scores for eighth-graders compared to 2022, and reading scores dropped 2 points at both fourth and eighth-grade levels.
Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos supported the department’s elimination in a February Fox News op-ed, saying the U.S. needs a “complete reset” that prioritizes students.