Trump Signs Order To Dismantle Education Department
THE WHITE HOUSE — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday afternoon directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to start dismantling the Department of Education.
The signing, held in a packed East Room full of students, teachers, parents, education advocates, and governors from across the country, was a celebratory event for many who have wanted to see an end to federal bureaucrats’ dictating of education regulations and spending, without regard for the individual needs of states and localities. McMahon was also in attendance.
“The Department of Education, we’re going to eliminate it, and everybody knows it’s right, and the Democrats know it’s right, and I hope they’re going to be voting for it, because ultimately it may come before them,” Trump said. “Everybody knows it’s right that we have to get our children educated. We’re not doing well with the world of education in this country, we haven’t for a long time.”
Referring to McMahon, Trump continued, “We’re pleased to be joined today by the woman who I chose because she’s an extraordinary person, and hopefully she will be our last Secretary of Education.”
President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Photo by Breccan F. Thies
Image CreditBreccan F. Thies / The Federalist
The order directs McMahon — “to the maximum extent appropriate” — take “all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States and local communities” without depriving Americans of the “benefits, programs, and benefits” they rely on.
As the Trump administration has made clear on numerous occasions, and as White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated Thursday in a preview to the event in front of the West Wing, cuts to the department will not affect things like student loans, civil rights enforcement, or Pell Grants. Instead, “the great responsibility of education, educating our nation’s students, will return to the states,” Leavitt said, adding that the scale and size of the department will be “greatly reduced.”
The order comes just over a week after the department announced it would be cutting staff by about 50 percent.
“Today’s executive order beginning the process to unwind the Department of Education is a necessary and welcome development for those who have been calling for its dismantling for decades. These are the first steps towards reforming an American education system that should have always been a state and local proposition,” Sarah Parshall Perry, vice president and legal fellow at Parents Defending Education (PDE), told The Federalist. “We are looking forward to continuing our mission to empower parents and students in educational environments that are once again value-neutral, and devoid of radical ideologies — something that will no doubt restore America’s education ranking as among the best in the world.”
In a Thursday press release, the White House pointed to the department having spent more than $3 trillion since 1979 “with virtually nothing to show for it.” The release noted an increase in “per-pupil spending” of over 245 percent during the same amount of time with “virtually no measurable improvement in student achievement.”
The White House pointed to more stats showing poor national education outcomes in the press release, including data ranking the U.S. 28 of 37 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries in math. The press release also highlights data revealing that 60 percent of fourth graders and close to 75 percent of eighth graders are “not proficient” in math, and that “math and reading scores for 13-year-olds” are the lowest “in decades.” Standardized test scores, likewise, have stagnated “for decades.”
With the move to dismantle the department, but keep its essential functions running, the Trump administration appears to be setting up the argument that the department has been a major detriment to American education since its inception. In the coming months and years, Congress must either justify keeping the department open or ultimately close it down for good.
Given the recent spate of activist low-court judges attempting to thwart the Trump administration, it is unclear if any likely challenge to the action will be held up.
“The numbers don’t lie — over the past 45 years, per pupil spending has skyrocketed while achievement has plummeted. The status quo has very clearly failed American children and done little more than line the pockets of bureaucrats and activists,” Nicole Neily, resident and founder of PDE, told The Federalist. “It’s past time for a radical rethink of how education is administered in this country, because we cannot keep propping up a failing system.”
Breccan F. Thies is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. He previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.