Trump signs executive order to dismantle Department of Education

President Trump signed an executive order Thursday seeking to facilitate his longstanding goal of eliminating the Department of Education.

While the order recognizes it would take an act of Congress to completely shutter the department, Trump directed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to do all she can to achieve its end.

“Today, we take a very historic action that was 45 years in the making,” he said at a signing ceremony at the East Room of the White House that included multiple school-age children sitting at classroom desks. “I will sign an executive order to begin eliminating the federal Department of Education.”

“The department’s useful functions ... will be preserved, fully preserved,” Trump added, referring to Pell Grants, Title I funding and programs for students with disabilities. “They’re going to be preserved in full and redistributed to various other agencies and departments.”

“But beyond these core necessities, my administration will take all lawful steps to shut down the department. We’re going to shut it down and shut it down as quickly as possible,” he added at the ceremony, which was attended by Republican lawmakers and governors, including Rep. Virginia Foxx (N.C.), Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The White House said earlier Thursday the Education Department will still keep its critical functions that are mandated by Congress.

“The Department of Education will be much smaller than it is today. As you know, the president’s executive order directed Linda McMahon to greatly minimize the agency. So, when it comes to student loans and Pell Grants, those will still be run out of the Department of Education,” Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

“The great responsibility of educating our nation’s students will return to the states. Any critical functions of the department … will remain,” Leavitt added.

Democrats were quick to denounce the move, with Sen. Tina Smith (Minn.) calling it “more bulls‑‑‑.”

“We know you’re just trying to wear us out. But for the record, I am not overwhelmed. My zone isn’t flooded,” Smith said. “I will fight your illegal behavior until the cows come home, and I’m pretty sure the hundreds of thousands of people who’ve contacted my office since you started this nonsense are on the same page.”

Before the order was even signed, the department took concrete steps to weaken itself by firing half of its employees.

McMahon earlier this month laid off 1,315 staffers in a reduction in force measure that was taken after hundreds of others were already put on leave or took buyout options. An agency that started with more than 4,000 employees now has just more than 2,000.

Trump's "directive to me, clearly, is to shut down the Department of Education, which we know we’ll have to work with Congress, you know, to get that accomplished,” McMahon said after the massing firing.

While GOP lawmakers in both chambers have proposed bills to wind down the federal agency, they have little chance of getting the 60 necessary votes in the Senate.

It is unclear exactly how small the department can be made in terms of numbers, although there are certain grants and other programs not mandated by law that can be canceled more easily by the administration.

“Closing the Department does not mean cutting off funds from those who depend on them — we will continue to support K-12 students, students with special needs, college student borrowers, and others who rely on essential programs. We’re going to follow the law and eliminate the bureaucracy responsibly by working with Congress and state leaders to ensure a lawful and orderly transition," the Education Department said in a statement Thursday after Trump signed his order.

Moves against the department are certain to face legal challenges. In response to it, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten told the Trump administration simply, “See you in court.”

The executive order comes weeks after McMahon told staffers they needed to be prepared for their “final mission.” In a memo, she warned this “restoration will profoundly impact staff, budgets, and agency operations here at the Department.”

In her confirmation hearing, McMahon supported the idea of moving mandated department programs, such as the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, to the Department of Health and Human Services.

According to media reports, the executive order to end the department was in the works for months, but Trump was advised to wait to sign it until McMahon was confirmed.

“I told Linda, ‘Linda, I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job,'” Trump said at the White House last month.

"We’re ranked very badly. And what I want to do is let the states run schools," he added.

Much of the opposition to McMahon’s confirmation was based on her support for abolishing the agency.

“Now, Trump and Musk have aimed their wrecking ball at public schools and the futures of the 50 million students in rural, suburban, and urban communities across America, by dismantling public education to pay for tax handouts for billionaires,” said Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, the largest teachers union in the country, in response to the executive order.

“Their plans are clear and if enacted, the real victims will be our most vulnerable students. Gutting the Education Department will send class sizes soaring, cut job training programs, make higher education more expensive and out of reach for middle class families, take away special education services for students with disabilities, and gut student civil rights protections,” she added.

Updated at 4:52 p.m. EDT

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