Trump is Trying to Shut Down the Department of Education
The disastrous move will harm countless students
The Trump administration is moving forward with its attempts to undermine the education of American students. While I had previously warned that the administration was gearing up to attack the Department of Education, a drafted executive order shows they are now going full throttle with this erroneous decision. 1 2
What is the Executive Order?
The order, which the Washington Post reported on earlier this Wednesday, March 6th, directs the incoming Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, to “take all necessary steps” to end the Department within the confines of what is permitted currently by law. As the Washington Post’s Laura Meckler explains:
A draft of the executive order that circulated on Wednesday recognizes that the president does not have the power to shutter the Education Department. It would take an act of Congress and 60 “yes” votes in the Senate, which is unlikely given that Republicans hold only 53 seats.
Rather, the draft calls on Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps” to facilitate the closure of the department “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.”
Officials including McMahon have suggested that might include trying to shift some of the agency’s functions to other parts of government — though that would also face legal hurdles because the agency’s major programs are assigned by law to the Education Department.
More likely is a continuation of what has already begun at the agency: deep cuts to staff, programs and grants. The department has already warned of a “very significant” reduction in force, or RIF, in the short term.
The draft was labeled “predecisional.” One person familiar with the matter confirmed that the draft was legitimate but cautioned that its details could change before it is issued. The White House declined to comment.
The department administers federal grant programs, including the $18.4 billion Title I program that provides supplemental funding to high-poverty K-12 schools, as well as the $15.5 billion program that helps cover the cost of education for students with disabilities. The department also oversees the $1.6 trillion federal student loan program and sets rules for what colleges must do to participate. 3
While it is unlikely that Trump will be able to ban the DOE effectively, he will try to do what he has always done: gut critical parts of the government to render the agency effectively dead. It is through these decisions—and the ringkissing of the GOP in the House and Senate—that he will undermine the DOE.
While the Department of Education could be saved—thanks to the fact that Congress created it through the Department of Education Organization Act of 1979—such protection requires a strong Congress to oppose the White House's clear and present overreach. Unfortunately, our current legislators are too sycophantic to successfully protect their constituents and America’s students.4
The Danger for Students
While much has been said about how the Department can be improved, outright abolishing it is not only asinine, but dangerous to students. As I explained in my initial article warning about this very threat:
While much of this discussion has focused on the Department of Education's importance in its own right, it is important to remember that the DOE impacts everyday American children. The DOE is responsible for supporting the education of 50 million students in about 98,000 public schools, 32,000 private schools, and an estimated 12 million postgraduate students.
Unilaterally, deciding to shut down the agency would not only mean that the support for these students would be severely undermined but would also damage the effectiveness of education across the country. It would also mean the destruction of support for disabled students.
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004), the Department of Education provides guidelines for schools to carry out Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for disabled students. IEPs are legal documents that help organize the structure for how disabled student in public schools will receive their education. The plans are organized with parents and trained professionals to plan out, among other things:
A set of goals for the student
Determine what accommodations are necessary,
Assign the person responsible for those services
Determine the measures for success and the timing of those measures
These policies are put in place to assist a plethora of disabilities, whether they are physical, mental, intellectual, or all the above. Without the Department of Education’s guidance, those standards would be left to the states, effectively rendering the federally mandated-implementation of these plans ineffective.
As I explained in my debate with Darby Callahan, the DOE doesn’t dictate curriculum. Its objective, insofar as it can be described fairly, is to support the proper education of American students and protect their rights from discriminatory practices. Abolishing the Department would make that goal unattainable.
Conclusion
While it is hard to say what will happen to the Department of Education, the current trajectory of the Department suggests that it will be significantly worse off thanks to the Trump administration’s policies. Failure to adequately fund, support and maintain a department necessarily renders it an ineffective object, which seems to be Trump’s goal.
By undermining the department’s ability to operate, the Trump administration can argue that it was never effective, further reinforcing the supposed need to abolish the department they sabotaged. If anyone is under the impression that the administration is serious about protecting the students of America, then I have a bridge to sell you. This is a horrid betrayal of the American people.
Conor Kelly, “The Trump Administration Is Trying to Destroy the Department of Education,” Substack Newsletter, The Progressive American with Conor Kelly (blog), September 21, 2023, https://www.progressiveamerican.net/p/trump-administration-is-trying-to.
Laura Meckler, “Draft Executive Order Set for Thursday Calls for Closing Education Dept.,” Washington Post, March 6, 2025, https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/03/05/trump-close-education-department-executive-order/.
Laura Meckler, “Draft Executive Order Set for Thursday Calls for Closing Education Dept.,” Washington Post, March 6, 2025.
Department of Education Organization Act, P.L. 117–286, 96 Stat 669 (1979). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-726/pdf/COMPS-726.pdf