President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order as early as Thursday, directing his newly confirmed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to dismantle the US Department of Education, according to US media reports. Citing a draft circulating on Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the order instructs McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Education Department” to the maximum extent permitted by law.
Trump, 78, has long advocated for decentralizing education and promised during his campaign to devolve federal education powers to state governments. Established in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter, the Department of Education cannot be completely shuttered without Congress passing a law with a 60-vote majority in the Senate. However, under Trump’s second administration, the agency could face significant cuts to programs and staffing, potentially crippling its operations.
The move has sparked outrage among Democrats, teachers’ unions, and parents, who view it as an attack on the public education system. Linda McMahon, a 76-year-old businesswoman and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, recently told a Senate education committee hearing that “the excessive consolidation of power” in Washington is detrimental to education. “So what’s the remedy? Fund education freedom, not government,” she asserted.
The Washington Post noted that McMahon and other officials have floated the idea of transferring some functions of the agency to other parts of the government as part of the dismantling process, a strategy likely to face legal challenges.
