Washington — President Trump announced the signing of an executive order that would begin the process of dismantling the Department of Education “once and for all.”
“We’re going to eliminate it, and everybody knows it’s right,” the president said of the department at the White House Thursday. He added, “We’re not doing well with the world of education in this country, and we haven’t for a long time.”
In the two months since Mr. Trump took office, the Education Department’s staff has already been slashed in half, and the administration is making plans to transfer some of its functions to other departments.
However, despite the president’s rhetoric, fully eliminating the Department of Education would require an act of Congress. To advance most legislation in the Senate takes 60 votes, meaning seven Democrats would need to vote for it along with all Republicans.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday on Fox News, ahead of the signing, that the Education Department would be much smaller than it is currently.
A White House official told CBS News on Wednesday that the following services will not be affected by the order: Student loans, Pell grants and Title I, which provides financial assistance to school districts for children from low-income families, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
A White House official said Thursday that student loans, IDEA enforcement, and enforcing civil rights laws will remain at a smaller Education Department “for now,” but they will eventually be transferred to other departments.
Upon naming Linda McMahon as his pick for education secretary, Mr. Trump said he wanted her to “put herself out of a job.” After she was confirmed by the Senate earlier this month, she sent a letter to the department titled “Our Department’s Final Mission,” saying Mr. Trump had “tasked us with accomplishing the elimination of bureaucratic bloat here at the Department of Education — a momentous final mission — quickly and responsibly.”
Nearly two dozen Democratic attorneys general last week filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to halt its efforts to slash the Education Department’s workforce, calling it unconstitutional.
contributed to this report.
