President Donald Trump is pushing forward with plans to weaken the U.S. Department of Education, eyeing executive actions to strip it of key functions while dozens of staffers have been placed on leave—an effort their union says is aimed at pressuring them to resign.
Eliminating the department outright would require an act of Congress, but Trump is considering measures that could gut its power, according to multiple reports this week. The president has long vowed to dismantle the department, a goal that now appears to be taking shape. Tech billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk has expressed confidence in the effort, declaring on social media that Trump "will succeed" where past conservatives have failed.
Targeting the Education Department
Reports indicate that Trump is exploring ways to move education programs to other federal agencies, cut down personnel, and take away functions not explicitly written into law. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that some of his advisors have urged him to wait until after the Senate confirmation of his pick for Education secretary, Linda McMahon, before taking sweeping action.
Trump himself has made clear that his goal is to dismantle the department. “I told Linda, ‘Linda, I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job,’” Trump said in the Oval Office this week, adding that he would like to eliminate the agency through executive order.
The president also pointed to what he calls the department’s failures in improving American education. “We spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, and we’re ranked at the bottom of the list,” Trump said. “What I want to do is let the states run schools.”
Staff Shakeup and Political Fallout
While much of the focus has been on Trump’s broader restructuring plans, the sudden administrative leave of multiple Education Department staffers has drawn scrutiny. Officials have tied the action to Trump’s executive order eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs from federal agencies. However, Jon Valant, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution, suggested that the leave notices are more likely linked to the broader effort to downsize and destabilize the department.
“I think they are trying to squeeze the department in any way they can, to try to encourage people to leave, force people to leave, do whatever they can to shrink, destabilize, and kneecap the department,” Valant said.
The union representing the affected employees has pushed back, saying many of those placed on leave had no direct involvement in DEI programs. Some had merely attended DEI training years ago—sessions that were previously encouraged by Trump’s own Education Department.
White House officials have defended the administration’s actions. “President Trump was elected to bring about unprecedented reform to the federal civil service to ensure it is merit-based and efficient,” Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications Madi Biedermann said in a statement.
Congressional Battle Looms
Though Trump has executive authority to reorganize aspects of the department, fully dismantling it would require legislation—a tough hurdle in a divided Congress. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) have introduced bills to eliminate the department, but such efforts face long odds, given the Democratic majority in the Senate.
“To my friends who are upset, I would say with respect, call somebody who cares,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said this week. “You better get used to this. It’s USAID today, it’s going to be the Department of Education tomorrow.”
Even among Republicans, however, there are concerns about the potential consequences of Trump’s plan. Neil McCluskey, director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute, said that while Trump can weaken the department, certain major programs—such as Title I funding for low-income schools and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act—are protected by law.
“He can’t really do a whole lot. You can’t eliminate Title I. He can’t eliminate the [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act],” McCluskey said. “But he can examine programs, shift funding, and move functions elsewhere.”
The Future of Federal Education Policy
The prospect of major changes at the Education Department has raised broader concerns about instability in U.S. education policy. Schools have already experienced sharp swings in federal guidance on issues like Title IX protections for LGBTQ students and how colleges handle sexual assault cases, shifting dramatically between the Trump and Biden administrations.
Valant worries that if Trump’s efforts proceed, it could set a precedent where federal education policy undergoes massive changes every time the White House shifts from one party to another.
“What worries me here is that we’re sort of headed down a path where we’re going to have this pendulum swing in a lot of different parts of what the federal government does when it comes to education,” Valant said. “And I don’t think that serves anyone well.”
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