President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday instructing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin the process of dismantling the US Department of Education.
“It sounds strange, doesn’t it? Department of Education. We’re going to eliminate it,” Trump said during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, where he was surrounded by children seated at school desks. Before putting pen to paper, he turned to the children and asked, “Should I do this?”
Introducing McMahon, Trump remarked that he hoped she would be the last person to ever hold the title of Secretary of Education, adding, “We’ll find something else for you, Linda.”
While the executive order sets the process in motion, fully eliminating the department would require congressional approval. Trump expressed hope that Democrats would support the effort. “I hope they’re going to be voting for it,” he said, “because ultimately it may come before them.”
Following the signing, Senator Bill Cassidy, R-La., who chairs the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, announced on X that he would introduce legislation to carry out Trump’s plan “as soon as possible.”
The Education Department was established in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter. Any attempt to dismantle it is expected to face stiff opposition, particularly from Democrats in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed to overcome filibusters and advance legislation.
Representative Bobby Scott, the top Democrat on the House Education Committee, called the executive order “reckless,” warning that it could jeopardize support for low-income students, students of color, students with disabilities, and those in rural areas.
However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified that the department would not be entirely eliminated under the order. She said its “critical functions” would remain, including enforcement of civil rights laws and oversight of student loans and Pell grants.
“The Department of Education will be much smaller than it is today,” Leavitt said, explaining that the order instructs McMahon to significantly reduce the agency’s size. “Student loans and Pell grants will still be managed through the Department of Education,” she added.