Trump set to sign executive order to dismantle Education Department

Akayla Gardner, Bloomberg News on Mar 19, 2025

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive action formally asking officials to take steps to dismantle the Department of Education, his latest effort to reduce the size of the federal government and its workforce.

Trump is slated to sign the order on Thursday, according to people familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss them. The order directs the secretary of education to take steps to close the department and “return education authority to the States,” according to a White House fact sheet on the order.

It also mandates that programs and activities receiving any remaining department funds not be used to advance diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

The department, which was created by Congress, technically needs legislative action to be shuttered, however.

Trump has already moved to drastically reduce the department’s footprint. Last week, officials notified employees of plans to cut nearly half of its more than 4,000 workers and cancel leases for regional offices.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon, the onetime CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment who also ran the Small Business Administration in Trump’s first term, told staff earlier this month that achieving the president’s goals will “profoundly impact staff, budgets, and agency operations.”

Trump campaigned on delivering a massive overhaul of the Education Department — including calling for its elimination. He has claimed its responsibilities can be transferred to state and local officials across the country, but restructuring the department remains a daunting task.

The department holds broad responsibilities. Last year it distributed approximately $121 billion in federal grants, loans and work-study programs to nearly 10 million students, according to a report. An annual application known as FAFSA, which it manages, has also become a fixture in the college application process, used by universities to help determine eligibility for scholarships.

Its funds also help support more than 100,000 public schools, with billions in assistance to provide resources to low-income students, English-language learners, individuals with disabilities and those living in rural communities, according to a January fact sheet.

Billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has staffers embedded at the Education Department, where they have accessed internal information and directed cuts to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of contracts.

Despite longstanding pressure from conservatives to shrink or do away with the Education Department, lawmakers have balked at eliminating it before. Still, that pressure has intensified after Trump’s reelection campaign in which many issues dealing with education became political flash points, including former President Joe Biden’s student-loan debt relief, and criticism over teachings on race, gender and sexuality in schools.

The Heritage Foundation, an influential conservative organization, outlined a road map in its Project 2025 agenda that includes ultimately calls for eliminating the department. One of the co-authors of the document, Russell Vought, oversees Trump’s budget office.

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